新加坡外交部发言人23日回应称,该报就新加坡总理李显龙在第19届“亚洲的未来”国际交流会议上的发言报道“是错误的,具有误导性”。回应称,在被问到“各国是否有必要携手合作‘包围’中国”时,李显龙对此说法予以“果断拒绝”(decisively rejected this approach)。他同时表示,这一做法无效,自己也不会批评中国。
文章称,“当然,如果出于长期考量,他们也会发现无论是钓鱼岛问题还是南海问题,如果要采取硬取方法,必将丢掉世界地位和名誉。因此需万分小心。那样就会成为“让我们与害怕中国的国家联合起来”,而这并非为建设性的有益之举。我认为,大家均应和平共处,发展多领域的建设性关系,亚太国家之间的关联并不需要都应以中国为中心,日本与东盟、日本与美国、印度与东亚国家都有合作。印度总理辛格访问日本,也将访问美国,同时试图与中国保持良好关系。(And certainly, if they are taking a long-term approach, they will make this calculation that whether it is the Senkakus, whether it is the South China Sea, what you gain on the Senkakus or the South China Sea, but you lose in terms of your broader reputation and standing in the world, you have to make that calculation very carefully. So I will be very careful about saying, ‘let us make a friendship amongst all the countries which are frightened of China’. I do not think that is a constructive and helpful approach。)