U.S.-Singapore Relations Page: 1 of 2

                                
.    Congressional Research Service
Informing the legislative debate since 1914

May 15, 2015

U.S.-Singapore Relations

Overview
Though only about three times the size of Washington, DC,
and with a population of 5.3 million, the city-state of
Singapore exercises economic and diplomatic influence on
a par with much larger countries. Its stable government,
strong economic performance, educated citizenry, and
strategic position along key shipping lanes afford it
leverage and a role in regional and global affairs. As the
United States implements the Obama Administration's
strategic "rebalance" to Asia, Singapore is a partner in both
trade and security cooperation.. At the same time,
Singapore's leaders aim to strike a balance among the
region's powers and also maintain close relations with
China.
The U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (FTA) went into
effect in January 2004-the United States' first bilateral
FTA with an Asian country-and trade has burgeoned. In
2013, Singapore was the 17t largest U.S. trading partner,
with $50 billion in total two-way goods trade, and a
substantial destination for U.S. foreign direct investment. It
is one of 12 nations negotiating the Trans-Pacific
Partnership (TPP), the Obama Administration's signature
economic initiative in Asia. Mutual security interests also
strengthen ties between Singapore and the United States. A
formal strategic partnership agreement allows the United
States to access Singapore military facilities and provides
the basis for U.S.-Singapore cooperation in
counterterrorism, counter-proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction, joint military exercises, policy dialogues, and
shared defense technology.
Singapore Politics
The People's Action Party (PAP) has won every general
election since the end of the colonial era in 1959, aided by
its success in delivering consistent economic growth, as
well as Singapore's fragmented opposition and electoral
procedures that strongly favor the ruling party. In recent
years, some observers have pointed to changes in the
political and social environment that may portend more
political pluralism, including generational changes and an
increasingly international outlook among Singaporeans. In
May 2011, opposition parties claimed their most successful
results in history, taking six of the unicameral Parliament's
87 elected seats, and garnering about 40% of the popular
vote. Though this still left the PAP with an overwhelming
majority in Parliament, the ruling party described the
election as a watershed moment for Singapore and vowed
to reform the party to respond to the public's concerns,
which appeared to focus mainly on the growing cost of
living and wealth disparities.

Perceptions of generational changes in Singapore were
highlighted further by the March 22, 2015, death of former
Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew at age 91. Lee, Singapore's
first prime minister, was widely heralded as the architect of
Singapore's success as a nation and its rapid economic
development, although much of the country's authoritarian
politics derived from Lee's efforts to constrain political
opposition. Lee served as prime minister from Singapore's
independence in 1959 until 1991, and Lee's eldest son is
current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who has been in
office since 2004.
Singapore's leaders have acknowledged a "contract" with
the Singaporean people, under which individual rights are
curtailed in the interest of maintaining a stable, prosperous
society. Supporters praise Singapore's pragmatism, noting
its sustained economic growth and high standards of living.
Others criticize the approach as stunting creativity and
entrepreneurship, and contributing to rising disparities of
income in Singapore's expanding population.
Although it has been elected by a comfortable majority in
every election since Singapore's founding, the PAP "has
used the government's extensive powers to place
formidable obstacles in the path of political opponents."
according to the U.S. State Department's 2013 Country
Report on Human Rights Practices. According to Amnesty
International, defamation suits by PAP leaders to
discourage opposition are widespread. The political careers
of several opposition politicians are marked by
characteristic obstacles erected by the ruling party,
including being forced to declare bankruptcy for failing to
pay libel damages to prominent PAP members.
U.S.-Singapore Defense Cooperation
The 2005 "Strategic Framework Agreement" formalizes the
bilateral security and defense relationship between the
United States and Singapore. The agreement, the first of its
kind that the United States signed with a non-ally since the
Cold War, builds on the U.S. strategy of "places-not-bases"
in the region, a concept that allows the U.S. military access
to facilities on a rotational basis without bringing up
sensitive sovereignty issues. The agreement allows the
United States to operate resupply vessels from Singapore
and to use a naval base, a ship repair facility, and an airfield
on the island-state. The U.S. Navy also maintains a
logistical command unit-Commander, Logistics Group
Western Pacific-in Singapore that serves to coordinate
warship deployment and logistics in the region. Singapore's
Changi Naval base is one of the few facilities in the world
that can accommodate a U.S. aircraft carrier.

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