Is Singapore’s Former Top Diplomat Criticizing Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan Again?

SINGAPORE: Bilahari Kausikan, Singapore’s former top diplomat at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has seemingly taken another veiled jab at Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, just days after previously questioning his stance on social media.

In a Facebook post on Saturday (March 18), Kausikan suggested that ASEAN may have taken a “moral high horse” approach in dealing with Myanmar, adding that it will be difficult for the group to back down without harm. Dr. Balakrishnan’s Ministry has maintained a “principled but restrained position” on Myanmar, supporting the exclusion of the Burmese junta from ASEAN meetings due to the lack of progress on a peace plan. This plan includes demands for an immediate cessation of violence and dialogue among all parties in Myanmar.

Myanmar’s democratically elected leaders were overthrown in a military coup in 2021, sparking a civil war that has resulted in thousands of deaths and displaced over 1.5 million people. In the wake of the coup, Dr. Balakrishnan stressed that ASEAN’s failure to act meaningfully on Myanmar would expose its lack of unity and undermine its credibility as an organization.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong echoed Dr. Balakrishnan’s position last year, urging ASEAN to continue excluding Myanmar’s junta from meetings until it shows cooperation in adhering to the agreed peace plan. However, cracks have emerged in ASEAN’s unity regarding how to handle Myanmar. In December 2022, Thailand’s Foreign Ministry hosted a meeting with Burmese coup leaders, attended by foreign ministers from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, while Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines opted not to participate.

Kausikan’s latest comments highlight a contrast between his stance and that of Dr. Balakrishnan’s Ministry. Under Kausikan’s leadership, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held that ASEAN should not try to wield moral authority over Myanmar, given its lack of significant economic leverage. He believed that Myanmar’s inclusion in ASEAN was strategically important, keeping it from becoming isolated and caught between the rising powers of China and India. Despite international pressure in the 2000s for Singapore to use its economic influence to push for democratic reform in Myanmar, Kausikan’s Ministry resisted such calls.

If Kausikan is indeed criticizing Dr. Balakrishnan’s approach, this marks the second time in recent weeks that the former diplomat has publicly expressed his dissatisfaction. Earlier in March, he took to Facebook to challenge Dr. Balakrishnan’s views on the so-called “peace dividend,” dismissing it as a “fashionable myth.”