Singapore’s Lawrence Wong seeks stronger ties with Japan amid global tensions

Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has kicked off his visit to Japan, where he is expected to address strategies with counterpart Sanae Takaichi on enhancing cooperation against a backdrop of economic uncertainty brought on by the Iran war. Kei Koga, an associate professor at the Public Policy and Global Affairs Programme at Singapore's NTU, said both countries could conclude several agreements to strengthen cooperation in areas such as AI and free trade. "Japan is likely to invoke the Free and Open Indo-Pacific framework, which aims to maintain and enhance a rules-based international order, to advance cooperation with Singapore," he said. Both countries faced the risk of being caught in the crosshairs of great rivalries, having anchored their economy and security to superpowers in the past, Koga said, adding that the meeting was likely to be viewed as a way to mitigate such risks through network building.

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