Singapore wants open supply chains as US levels China chip curbs

Singapore’s top diplomat is pushing for “open and inclusive” tech supply chains to counteract accelerating economic bifurcation after the US moved to restrict China’s access to cutting-edge semiconductors.

Speaking at an event Wednesday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan said such divisions would lead to higher inflation, supply chain disruptions, slower technological progress and “more miscalculations and unintended consequences.” The way forward would be a multilateral network for science, technology and supply chains.

“We believe that a more stable, constructive, and peaceful configuration is for both the US and China to have overlapping circles of friends,” Balakrishnan said. “What we need is a network – as wide and inclusive a multilateral network as possible – that facilitates the co-existence and collaboration between competing technological stacks.”

The Biden administration last month expanded restrictions on China’s access to semiconductor technology, raising concerns among Asian countries that count China as a major economic partner. Southeast Asian countries, in particular Singapore, have become increasingly vocal over being made to choose between the competing powers.

China has said that the US has politicized technology, economic and trade issues, and its intention behind the “technology blockade and de-coupling” efforts is obvious.

While Balakrishnan acknowledged the US concern that advancements in critical technologies can transform foreign militaries and ultimately threaten US national security, Washington’s latest controls on China amount to “all but a technology war.”

“The absence of strategic trust leads both sides to always assume the worst about each other,” he said. “Conditions are set for a self-fulfilling and mutually escalatory dynamic, which could set in motion a vicious downward spiral.”