Taiwan President Flies to Singapore to Pay Last Respects to Lee

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou flew to Singapore on Tuesday, a source familiar with the matter said, amid local media reports that Ma would pay his last respects to Singapore's first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, who died aged 91 on Monday.

Ma would be unlikely to attend Sunday's invitation-only funeral for Lee to avoid an awkward encounter with China's representatives, given the likelihood of a top Chinese leader attending.

China regards Taiwan as a renegade province and maintains a close relationship with Singapore.

Taiwan's foreign ministry said it had no information about the matter. Officials at Taiwan's presidential office could not be reached immediately for comment.

Singapore's foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment on Ma's trip.

China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that Lee always upheld a "One China" policy while he was alive and also did a lot of work to improve cross strait relations, which China appreciates. The "One China" policy holds that there is only one China and that Taiwan is part of it.

"We believe that the Singapore side will act in accordance with the 'One China' principle to carefully and appropriately deal with the relevant issue related to Taiwan," Hua said at a daily news briefing.

The city-state faces a diplomatic balancing act keeping all of its allies happy as it prepares for Lee's funeral.

Singapore's pragmatic approach to foreign policy, spearheaded by Lee, means it is on friendly terms with a wide spectrum of political regimes.

As well as having a strong relationship with both the United States and China, it has also built ties with countries shunned by some of its larger allies.

It kept up relations with Myanmar throughout the military junta's rule when it was sanctioned by the West and has trade and diplomatic ties with North Korea.

Singapore maintains a close, informal relationship with Taiwan and the two countries signed a free trade pact in 2013.

Taiwan is not recognised internationally by most nations due to Chinese pressure, though China does not object to purely economic exchanges.

Lee operated as an intermediary between China and Taiwan, helping to achieve the first direct talks between the two in 1993.

"The government of the Republic of China and its people will eternally be grateful for the contribution Lee Kuan Yew made in promoting relations between Taiwan and Singapore, as well as his contribution to peaceful cross-strait relations," Ma said in a statement on Monday following the news of Lee's death. 

REUTERS