Goh Chok Tong to West: R-E-S-P-E-C-T Asia's Rise

Goh Chok Tong to West: R-E-S-P-E-C-T Asia's Rise

Singapore's former PM and current Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong recently made a noteworthy speech at the Second Annual Asian Leadership Conference in South Korea. In the speech, he asked the Western powers that be to consider a greater role for Asia in global governance. This is the introduction:

For more than 200 years, the West has dominated the international system both politically and economically. But Asia is now growing rapidly, shifting the balance back towards the East. It began with Japan, and was followed by Korea and the Newly Industrialised Countries, and now China and India. Asia’s continued economic growth will compel political and strategic adjustments to the established international order. Such adjustments are best brought about through win-win global cooperation rather than a winner-takes-all competition. Therefore, it is in the interest of the West to give the emerging Asian powers a stake in the existing international order and accommodate its legitimate interests. In turn, Asia must play a greater role, as a partner and not a rival of the West, in maintaining international order and preserving global stability. This requires an adjustment to relationships, based on respect on the part of both the West and Asia of each other’s aspirations. This is common sense but is easier said than done for it involves a change of mindsets and redefinition of interests by both sides. How this process is managed is a basic strategic challenge.

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