Singapore to join Biden Indo-Pacific pact, back China's CPTPP entry: Lee

Prime minister stresses need to 'maintain a balance' in exclusive interview

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong speaks with Nikkei in an exclusive interview on May 20. (Photo by Takashi Nakano)

DYLAN LOH, Nikkei staff writer

May 23, 2022 02:00 JST

SINGAPORE -- Singapore intends to join the new U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework while also supporting China's entry into a multilateral free trade pact that does not currently include America, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told Nikkei in an exclusive interview.

Lee said Singapore wants to "nurture" links with a range of countries including Japan "and maintain a balance so that we have resilience and we are not overly dependent on any single party."