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Thursday, August 06, 2020, 20:22
S'pore's Balakrishanan urges international cooperation against virus
By Xinhua
Thursday, August 06, 2020, 20:22 By Xinhua

In this Dec 16, 2019 file photo, Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan gives a press conference after the 14th ASEM Foreign Ministers’ Meeting at the Royal Palace of El Pardo near Madrid. (OSCAR DEL POZO / AFP)

SINGAPORE - Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan has cautioned against resorting to blame game amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and called for international cooperation to combat the highly infectious disease.

We're moving from a unipolar world into a multipolar world and the hope that America somehow will single-handedly carry this world is not realistic 

Vivian Balakrishnan, Singaporean Foreign Minister

The biggest challenges facing humanity, including pandemics and climate change, are transnational ones, so dealing with them will require cooperation, multipolar leadership, and multilateral institutions and processes,Balakrishnan told the virtual Aspen Security Forum on Wednesday evening. 

"We're moving from a unipolar world into a multipolar world and the hope that America somehow will single-handedly carry this world is not realistic," he said, adding that the "old canard (that) you are either with us or against us does not work in a multipolar world." 

ALSO READ: Singapore migrant worker mental health in spotlight

Calling the Chinese government's decision to impose a lockdown on the Chinese city of Wuhan two days before the Chinese New Year "a big deal," Balakrishnan said that the move shows that once the Chinese government understood the gravity of the situation, did things most other governments would hesitate to do, and did so decisively and comprehensively.

China's willingness to take decisive measures to contain the coronavirus even at great economic cost is worthwhile and should be credited, he said. 

READ MORE: Singapore hopes US can stabilize relations with China


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