What Singapore’s Poseidon Purchase Tells Us About Its Foreign Policy Worldview

When the United States first stationed P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft in Singapore in December 2015, China objected sharply. China, the United States, and the country’s immediate neighbors continue to shape the strategic environment in which Singapore operates. For the United States, the priority is to prevent any single power from achieving regional hegemony. In this context, Singapore’s Poseidon purchase enhances security of the regional commons: It will soon be able to conduct long-range patrols, track submarines, deter piracy, and safeguard undersea cables. Singapore’s Economic-Defense CompactThen we come to Singapore’s own interests: namely, the fact that its status as a global economic node in Asia rests on connectivity.