Tag Archives: Singapore

Obama, Singapore leader push Pacific trade deal in state visit

Obama and Loong discussing Trans-Pacific Deal

By Timothy Gardner and Ayesha Rascoe

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama welcomed Singapore’s prime minister for a state visit on Tuesday with a major trade deal and China’s development of islands in the South China Sea at the top of their agenda.

Both the United States and Singapore are signatories to the 12 nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which Obama hopes Congress will approve before he leaves office in January.

Obama and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong touched on the trade issue at the opening ceremony for Lee’s visit, which is the first official one by a prime minister from Singapore since 1985.

“We stand together for a regional order where every nation large and small plays and trades by the same rules,” Obama said.

Lee said TPP would be a major trading group linking both sides of the Pacific. “Not only will the TPP benefit American workers and businesses, it will send a clear signal and a vital signal that America will continue to lead in the Asia Pacific and enhance the partnerships that link our destinies together,” he said.

The TPP faces a battle in Congress. Some U.S. voters blame trade deals for shutting factories, shipping jobs overseas and favoring corporations over the environment. The deal also is opposed by presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, a Democrat, and Donald Trump, a Republican.

Obama believes the TPP will fix problems in a previous trade deal, the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, and will create jobs by allowing people around the world to buy U.S. products. The TPP aims to liberalize commerce in 40 percent of the world’s economy and would be a check against China’s influence in Asia.

Also on the agenda during Lee’s visit will be China’s build up of islands in the South China Sea. China claims most of the energy-rich waters through which trillions of dollars worth of shipping trade passes annually and has been fortifying islands in the sea. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims there.

China has accused the United States of fuelling tensions in the region with patrols and exercises.

Singapore is not a claimant to the South China Sea, but the tiny city-state has the largest defense budget in Southeast Asia at a time when nations are stepping up their military spending in response to China’s assertiveness in the region.

(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Bill Trott)

Singapore bans newspaper linked to Islamic State

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore on Friday banned the distribution and possession of Al Fatihin, a newspaper linked to the Islamic State militant group, after government officials repeatedly warned against terror threats.

The wealthy city-state saw its first case of terrorism financing this month, with four Bangladeshi men jailed for terms ranging from two to five years for funding attacks in their South Asian homeland.

“The Singapore government has zero tolerance for terrorist propaganda and has therefore decided to prohibit Al Fatihin,” the Ministry of Communications and Information said in a statement.

Launched in the southern Philippines on June 20, the paper, whose name means “The Conqueror” in Arabic, is also distributed in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and southern Thailand, the Straits Times newspaper said this month.

“ISIS is a terrorist group which poses a serious threat to the security of Singapore,” the ministry added. “Al Fatihin is yet another step by ISIS to spread its propaganda abroad, with a clear intention to radicalize and recruit Southeast Asians.”

The newspaper is published in the Indonesian language, which is very close to Malay, Yaacob Ibrahim, Singapore’s minister in charge of Muslim affairs, said in the statement.

Anyone convicted of possessing or distributing the newspaper faced a fine or imprisonment, or both, the statement added.

The fine can range up to S$10,000 ($7,380), and the jail term up to three years for a first offense, rising to four years for subsequent offences, the Straits Times newspaper said.

Al Fatihin is mainly distributed online, said Rohan Gunaratna, a terrorism expert at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University.

“I have not seen a printed version in Singapore,” Gunaratna told Reuters this month. “It is primarily directed at Indonesia and Malaysia. The number of potential supporters and sympathizers in Singapore is very small – insignificant.”

(Reporting by Masayuki Kitano and Marius Zaharia; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)