Foreign influence efforts on the rise to make Singaporeans ‘take sides’, PM Lee Hsien Loong warns

Singaporeans need to guard against influence operations regardless of their source to safeguard the country’s sovereignty and independence, PM Lee says

In the face of geopolitical changes, the Singapore leader has repeatedly emphasised the need to stand firm on fundamental principles of international law and uphold a rules-based order

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Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong. File photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 7:19pm, 21 Aug 2022Updated: 10:57am, 22 Aug 2022

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday warned citizens to “actively guard” against foreign influence efforts including on social media, stressing the importance of the city state’s sovereignty.

He offered an example of how there had been text messages on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that were “clearly attempting to stir up strong anti-American sentiments”.

“On the other hand, other messages aim to discredit Russia and China, and seek to influence and persuade you to side with the West.”

Some of these texts – sent on messaging platforms including WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook and WeChat – have an “ulterior aim” of making citizens take sides and could even erode people’s trust in the government.

Ukrainian soldiers at the front line in the Donetsk region on August 19, 2022. Photo: AFP

His remarks, delivered during the Mandarin address of his annual policy speech, came amid increasing reports of pro-China messaging being disseminated through channels such as WeChat. These messages mostly echo the narratives of Beijing and other like-minded nations, observers and security officials have said privately.