Singapore

SINGAPORE, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday said tensions between the United States and China and the Russia-Ukraine war affects security in the Asia-Pacific.

"We can expect more geopolitical contestation in the Asia-Pacific," he said, adding that Singapore would try its best to avoid being caught up in the "major power rivalry" .

SINGAPORE, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Monday warned of the scope for miscalculations over tensions in the Taiwan Strait, which he said were unlikely to ease soon amid deep suspicion and limited engagement between the United States and China.

In a televised address ahead of the city-state's national day on Tuesday, Lee said Singapore would be buffeted by that intense rivalry and tension in the region, which should prepare for a future less peaceful and stable than now.

SINGAPORE (AP) — U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stressed American support for Taiwan on Saturday, suggesting at Asia’s premier defense forum that recent Chinese military activity around the self-governing island threatens to change the status quo.

Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Austin noted a “steady increase in provocative and destabilizing military activity near Taiwan,” including almost daily military flights near the island by the People’s Republic of China.

SINGAPORE, June 10 (Reuters) - The defence chiefs of China and the United States held face-to-face talks for the first time on Friday, with both sides standing firm on their opposing views over Taiwan's right to rule itself.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defence Minister General Wei Fenghe met on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore for nearly an hour, double the time initially allotted.

SINGAPORE, June 9 (Reuters) - The United States and China are expected to use Asia's top security meeting this week to trade blows over everything from Taiwan's sovereignty to the war in Ukraine, although both sides have indicated a willingness to discuss managing differences.

The Shangri-La Dialogue, which attracts top-level military officials, diplomats and weapons makers from around the globe, will take place June 10-12 in Singapore, the first time the event has been held since 2019 after it was postponed twice because of COVID-19.

SINGAPORE, June 9 (Reuters) - Indonesian naval officers have asked for $375,000 to release a fuel tanker they detained last week, accusing it of anchoring illegally in Indonesian waters off Singapore, two people involved in negotiations over the unofficial payment said.

The incident comes after Reuters reported a dozen similar detentions last year. In those cases, the ship owners made unofficial payments of about $300,000 each and the vessels detained by the Indonesian navy east of Singapore were released.

SINGAPORE, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Singapore reported 6,442 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the total tally to 1,254,113.

Among the new cases, 6,289 were local transmissions and 153 were imported cases.

Of the local cases, 453 cases were detected through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and 5,836 through antigen rapid test (ART) tests, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health.

A total of 288 cases are currently warded in hospitals, with eight cases in intensive care units.

SINGAPORE, May 5 (NNN-Bernama) — Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will receive Malaysian state of Johor’s highest honour from Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, while his wife, Ho Ching, will receive a state award, at an investiture ceremony in Johor on Friday (May 6), The Straits Times reported.

Quoting a statement by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the report said Lee and  Ho will visit the state to attend the ceremony, which will be held at the Istana Besar in Johor Bahru.

SINGAPORE, April 28 (Reuters) - Singapore authorities late on Wednesday defended a decision to execute a Malaysian drug trafficker, in response to international criticism over their use of the death penalty.

Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, 34, had been convicted of smuggling at least 42 grams (1.48 oz) of heroin into Singapore, which has among the world's harshest narcotics laws. He was hanged on Wednesday morning, after multiple legal challenges and appeals for clemency on the grounds that he had an intellectual disability, failed.

SINGAPORE (AP) — Chinese telecoms equipment and smartphone maker Huawei’s sales fell 14% in January-March from a year earlier as it pumped money into research and development while grappling with U.S. sanctions, according to figures released by the company Thursday.

Huawei Technologies said its revenue was 131 billion yuan ($19.8 billion) in the first quarter of 2022, compared to 152.2 billion yuan a year earlier.

Its net profit margin for the quarter was 4.3%, down from 11.1% in the same quarter of 2021.