Singapore’s Minister of Defense, Ng Eng Hen, has warned of the serious consequences that a possible war between the United States and China would have for the whole world in the context of escalating tensions between the two powers. During his speech at the IMDEX Asia 2023 naval and maritime exhibition, the official urged the Indo-Pacific countries to deepen mutual understanding in order to avoid the outbreak of a conflict.
Ng has stressed that the “top priority for all government leaders” should be to ensure that there is no conflict in Asia, as any simultaneous war in Europe and Asia would be disastrous for the entire world. Furthermore, the minister has stressed that a war between the US and China, which account for more than a quarter of world trade, would create a situation that would far exceed the current supply chain problems manifested after the start of the conflict in Ukraine.
The world depends on China as a major manufacturer of diverse products and many items essential to our way of life, the minister emphasized. Around 30% of the world’s maritime trade passes through the South China Sea, including a quarter of the world’s oil and a third of the world’s container trade, meaning that any disruption would have obvious negative implications.