Singapore Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong urged Australia to build stronger economic, security and educational links across Asia, arguing the ties would improve resilience and give Canberra more room to pursue its interests.
In the final 2026 ABC Boyer Lecture, published Nov. 8, Lee described the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as the world’s fifth-largest economy and a market of 700 million people. He said Australia’s investment across ASEAN member states was no greater than its investment in New Zealand.
Lee named critical minerals, agribusiness, renewable energy, digital technology and deep technology as potential areas for cooperation. He said Southeast Asian companies could complement Australian projects and that investment in the region could help Australian businesses compete and strengthen their supply chains.
On security, Lee called for Australia to maintain a presence in Asia, build partnerships with like-minded countries and keep practical contacts with countries where relations are more difficult. He said communication between armed forces could help manage incidents and reduce the risk of miscalculation.
Lee said the United States is reassessing its role in security and trade, China’s strategic and economic weight is growing, and multilateral cooperation is under strain. He also pointed to education exchanges through the Colombo Plan, begun in 1951, and the New Colombo Plan, launched in 2014, which he said had built goodwill between Australia and Asia.
Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Singapore and Australia signed the Protocol on Economic Resilience and Essential Supplies to the Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) on July 27. The ministry said the protocol is intended to support trade in essential supplies during supply-chain disruptions. The countries also signed the Industrial Base Resiliency Arrangement (IBRA) for defense-industrial cooperation.
Ministers directed officials to hold the Australia-Singapore Economic Resilience Dialogue before the end of 2026, the ministry said. It did not list a specific date.
