US President Donald Trump’s instinct to “challenge old ways of doing things” that no longer work and his emphasis on “common sense” bore striking similarities to how Singapore’s founding leader Lee Kuan Yew steered the city state from vulnerability to global relevance, American defence secretary Pete Hegseth has said.
In a wide-ranging address on Washington’s Indo-Pacific approach at the Shangri-La Dialogue on Saturday, Hegseth drew parallels between the “historic men”, describing both as having a “willingness to work with others, while respecting mutual self-interest”.
“Standing here in Singapore, I think this approach lines quite well with the pragmatic style of Singapore’s legendary prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew,” he said.
“Across three decades, he built this country into one of the world’s most important hubs of finance and innovation. Like the late prime minister, President Trump’s approach is grounded in common sense and national interests.”
Washington, he added, rejected any “paradigm that makes conflict inevitable”.
“We are applying this common sense approach to defence here in the Indo-Pacific and throughout the world, and we believe the results speak for themselves.”
