Russian aggression in Ukraine inexcusable but West ‘not uninvolved bystanders’: Singapore minister K. Shanmugam

[Nan Yang]

Russian aggression in Ukraine inexcusable but West ‘not uninvolved bystanders’: Singapore minister K. Shanmugam​

• Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam said Western powers are not ‘uninvolved bystanders who had no role to play’ for the situation in Ukraine
• Among the factors the minister raised was the West’s decision to expand Nato despite Russian security concerns

Kimberly Lim
Published: 9:13pm, 8 Mar, 2023

Singapore’s Minister of Law K Shanmugam said Russian aggression in Ukraine is inexcusable but West not ‘bystanders’. Photo: AFP/File

While no background factor can excuse Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Western powers are not “uninvolved bystanders who had no role to play” in the situation that led to the ongoing conflict, a top Singapore minister has said.

In a keynote address on the war’s implications for Southeast Asia, Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam sought to underscore that the background of the conflict was far more complicated than had been portrayed by mainstream news.

Amid the complexities of the conflict, the minister said it was important “to look beyond the bluster, the headlines, and the ideologically-driven narratives to understand the facts”.

Shanmugam, foreign minister from 2011 to 2015 – when Russia first annexed Crimea – crystallised Western media views as one that painted Moscow and President Vladimir Putin as “the sole irresponsible actors, and the president’s own ambitions have led to all these sufferings”.

“A fair bit of this is accurate, in my view, but it doesn’t convey the whole picture,” Shanmugam said during a speech to close a two-day workshop on the war organised by Singapore’s ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.

“It too conveniently absolves the West of any responsibility for the way events have unfolded,” he said, emphasising at the same time that “nothing in the background can excuse the violation of Ukraine or the war”.

Among the background factors the minister raised was the West’s position regarding a so-called “not one inch” stance whereby the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) would not expand to the east following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990.

While declassified records show then US Secretary of State James Baker had made such a proposal to assuage Russian concerns about its own security, subsequent US administrations appeared to have different views. In the decades after the fall of the Soviet Union, there were two rounds of Nato enlargement – in 1999 and 2004.

While it is “entirely understandable” that the likes of Poland or the Baltic nations wanted to join Nato due to their “bitter history”, it was also fair to say that “there was a significant responsibility to deal with Russia’s security concerns, even as Nato decided on enlargement”.

Singapore’s Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam delivers a speech at the Iseas-Yusof Ishak Institute on March 8, 2023. Photo: ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute

He also raised comments by former French president Francois Hollande and ex-German chancellor Angela Merkel about the intent of the Minsk Agreements agreed in 2014 and 2015 to restore peace following Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

While Russia agreed to the pact – brokered by France and Germany – as it included a provision for Ukraine to grant greater autonomy to the people of the Donbas region, the comments by the two ex-leaders last year, after the war’s outbreak, showed the deal was in fact to provide Ukraine time to become stronger.

“Now, what does Russia take away from these statements from the leaders? Agreements cannot be negotiated between these countries … Russians say these comments show that the West had been duplicitous,” he said.

These were the issues and chronology of events he raised to illustrate that “there are different views on how we got here and to what extent those countries are responsible for the current situation”.

“The West and Nato, in my view, were not uninvolved bystanders who had no role to play in the current situation,” he said. The minister added: “Whatever the case, Ukraine is the unfortunate victim, and its people are paying a terrible price.”

For a small state like Singapore, Shanmugam said lessons from the conflict illustrate two principles of international law – indivisible security whereby a state should not enhance its security at the expense of another’s, and self determination whereby a state should have the right to choose its own military and political alliances.

Keeping in mind that it is often small states – like Singapore – that pay the price of major power rivalry, it is in the city state’s interest to have regional structures that promote cooperation rather than rivalry in the region, the minister said.

Ukrainian soldiers fire a self-propelled howitzer towards Russian positions near Bakhmut, the site of the heaviest battles, Donetsk region, Ukraine on Tuesday. Photo: AP

“Ultimately, we have to have the military means ourselves, and the social resilience, so that we can defend ourselves. Because others may help only if it suits their interests.”

Singapore – a key strategic partner of the US – is the sole Southeast Asian nation to impose sanctions on Russia over its invasion.

It said its position is based on its principle of “defending the right of all nations, big or small, to have their sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity fully respected.”