US ambassador to Singapore hails ties, concerned by China’s ‘unnecessarily provocative’ actions

Jonathan Kaplan criticised China’s aggressive South China Sea actions, while highlighting US-Singapore ties at a conference in the city state

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US Ambassador Jonathan Kaplan highlighted Singapore’s strategic importance to Washington at a financial conference in the city state on Wednesday. Photo: sg.usembassy.gov

Published: 7:00pm, 18 Sep 2024Updated: 7:15pm, 18 Sep 2024

US Ambassador to Singapore Jonathan Kaplan says Beijing has been “unnecessarily provocative” in the South China Sea, emphasising the importance of American business investment in the city state and region.

Kaplan, who has been serving as ambassador to Singapore since 2021, expressed the United States’ support for the region and its concerns over China’s maritime activities during a speech on Wednesday at the launch of the Milken Institute Asia Summit 2024.

The ambassador also assured partners at the summit that the US would continue to support the region, regardless of the outcome of its presidential election.

Kaplan, who is also an entrepreneur, stressed the importance of communication between the two competing superpowers, saying: “The United States shares concerns and frustrations like many in the region about some of the PRC [People’s Republic of China] behaviour, especially in the South China Sea where they are being aggressive and, I will argue, unnecessarily provocative.”

He added that his country remained concerned about China’s partnership with Russia’s Vladimir Putin amid his illegal invasion of Ukraine.

“We stand firmly with our allies and our partners, and we fully support a free and open Indo-Pacific and the rules based international order,” the ambassador said to some 200 people including investors, business leaders and government officials.

Kaplan also stressed the need for China and the US to communicate to prevent unintended consequences. “We also believe that together the United States and PRC can tackle many of the significant global challenges that we face, and we can do that [by] progressing and cooperating together.”