Singapore makes case for multilateralism at UN General Assembly: 'Cooperation serves all of us':

Regardless of a country's size, a world governed by rules is infinitely better than one governed simply by the exercise of hard, crude power, said Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan.

Making the case for multilateralism in Singapore's statement at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday (Sept 26), Dr Balakrishnan pointed out that even big powers will need partners to secure their long-term national interests.

He noted that interstate relations have become increasingly dictated by raw power — where outcomes are determined on the basis of size, leverage and coercion — highlighting that this presents a "clear and present danger" for smaller states, including Singapore.

"But even the more powerful states would ultimately pay a price, because hard power, on its own, cannot secure supply chains, protect populations from pandemics, or stabilise a warming planet," the foreign minister said pointedly.

Dr Balakrishnan went on to explain how bilateral and regional arrangements, while playing a complementary role to global frameworks, cannot replace shared rules that apply universally.

"Multilateralism offers a different value — one that is in every State's enlightened national interests. These shared rules and norms provide predictability. They constrain the capricious exercise of power, and they maximise autonomy even when power is unequally distributed."

Citing the World Food Programme that feeds over 100 million people a year, and the common International Civil Aviation Organisation standards that enable 100,000 flights to operate safely every day as examples, Dr Balakrishnan said that the multilateral system still works more than what headlines would suggest.

Making multilateralism fit for purpose

Singapore's foreign minister went on to suggest three priorities, he said, could make multilateralism "fit for purpose": compliance with international law and norms of multilateralism, reforming existing institutions where needed, formulating new rules and new institutions for new technologies.

On international law and norms, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan emphasised that the UN Convention on the Law of Sea (UNCLOS) is not just a matter of principle or debate, but collective interests.

"The largest economies depend on the open sea lanes as much as the smallest."

He noted that the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz has also led to stark economic impact, affecting energy supplies and leading to higher prices, and disruption supply chains.

And where broader agreement is not yet possible, cooperation can be sustained through pragmatic and flexible efforts such as the the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

This, he said, can systematically reduce trade friction, while strengthening supply chain resilience.

"The objective remains the same: to preserve the benefits of cooperation, widen participation over time, and ultimately bring these arrangements into the multilateral global architecture," Singapore's foreign minister said.

Building common rules, safeguards on AI

Turning to what he described as the "most urgent frontier", Dr Balakrishnan said the world must now urgently establish common rules and safeguards for artificial intelligence (AI).

"Since the risks from AI do not remain confined behind borders, it means we also need rules of the road that will form a shared global understanding of how we will collectively confront this challenge," he added.

Likening this to traffic lights, which are understood any where in the world, Singapore's foreign minister highlighted that human beings must ultimately remain in control and accountable for the technology.

He noted that building trust is important as the technology becomes an arena for strategic competition.

"I believe it is possible for us to work together to collectively understand the capabilities and risk of AI models, develop comparable methods for testing and evaluation, and to report serious incidents quickly across borders," Dr Balakrishnan suggested.

Ending off Singapore's statement, the foreign minister highlighted that the United Nations' founders had hoped that rules could restrain power.

And amid the need for existing institutions and processes — including the UN — to be reformed, adaptation is key, he said.

"If we want to keep that hope alive, we must defend those very same rules that continue to serve us consistently everywhere across the globe.

"We have to adapt to a changing world, and we have to build new rules, new institutions, and new processes for the challenges," Singapore's foreign minister added.

新加坡外交部长维文·巴拉克里希南博士表示，无论一个国家的大小，一个由规则统治的世界都比一个仅仅依靠强硬、粗暴的武力统治的世界要好得多。

巴拉克里希南博士在周六（9月26日）举行的联合国大会第81届会议上代表新加坡发表声明，为多边主义辩护。他指出，即使是大国也需要合作伙伴来保障其长期的国家利益。

他指出，国家间关系越来越受赤裸裸的权力支配——结果取决于规模、影响力和胁迫——强调这对包括新加坡在内的小国构成了“显而易见的危险”。

“但即便更强大的国家最终也会付出代价，因为单凭硬实力无法保障供应链，无法保护民众免受流行病的侵害，也无法稳定变暖的地球，”这位外交部长一针见血地说道。

巴拉克里希南博士接着解释说，双边和区域安排虽然对全球框架起到补充作用，但不能取代普遍适用的共同规则。

“多边主义提供了一种不同的价值——一种符合每个国家开明国家利益的价值。这些共同的规则和规范提供了可预测性。它们约束了权力的随意行使，即使在权力分配不均的情况下，也能最大限度地保障自主权。”

巴拉克里希南博士以世界粮食计划署每年为超过 1 亿人提供食物，以及国际民用航空组织制定的通用标准每天确保 10 万架次航班安全运行为例，指出多边体系仍然比新闻标题所暗示的更加有效。

使多边主义发挥其应有的作用

新加坡外交部长接着提出了三个优先事项，他说，这些事项可以使多边主义“发挥应有的作用”：遵守国际法和多边主义规范，在需要的地方改革现有机构，为新技术制定新规则和新机构。

关于国际法和规范，维维安·巴拉克里希南博士强调，《联合国海洋法公约》（UNCLOS）不仅仅是一个原则或辩论的问题，而是关乎集体利益的问题。

“最大的经济体和最小的经济体一样，都依赖于开放的海上航线。”

他指出，霍尔木兹海峡的持续关闭也造成了严重的经济影响，影响了能源供应，导致价格上涨，并扰乱了供应链。

如果还无法达成更广泛的协议，则可以通过务实灵活的努力来维持合作，例如区域全面经济伙伴关系协定和全面与进步跨太平洋伙伴关系协定。

他表示，这可以系统性地减少贸易摩擦，同时增强供应链的韧性。

新加坡外交部长表示：“我们的目标依然不变：保持合作带来的益处，随着时间的推移扩大参与范围，并最终将这些安排纳入多边全球架构。”

构建人工智能通用规则和保障措施

巴拉克里希南博士谈到他所说的“最紧迫的前沿领域”时表示，世界现在必须紧急建立人工智能（AI）的共同规则和保障措施。

“由于人工智能带来的风险不会局限于国界之内，这意味着我们也需要制定规则，以形成全球共识，共同应对这一挑战，”他补充道。

新加坡外交部长将此比作世界各地都能理解的交通信号灯，并强调人类最终必须对这项技术保持控制和负责。

他指出，随着科技成为战略竞争的舞台，建立信任至关重要。

巴拉克里希南博士建议：“我相信我们可以共同努力，共同了解人工智能模型的能力和风险，开发可比的测试和评估方法，并迅速跨境报告严重事件。”

新加坡外交部长在新加坡声明的最后强调，联合国创始人希望规则能够制约权力。

他表示，在现有机构和程序（包括联合国）需要改革的情况下，适应是关键。

“如果我们想让这种希望继续存在，我们就必须捍卫这些在世界各地持续为我们服务的规则。”

新加坡外交部长补充说：“我们必须适应不断变化的世界，我们必须建立新的规则、新的机构和新的流程来应对挑战。”