Beware the crocodile: The challenge for small states

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[opening BANG!] A great power is like a crocodile: it can bring danger even as it looks benign. As Singapore’s first foreign minister S. Rajaratnam put it, when the crocodile shows its teeth, “one is never quite sure whether it is smiling or baring its teeth”.

economic and military coercion emanating from US President Donald Trump’s administration. The list includes 

abduction of the head of state of a sovereign nation, Venezuela

; threats to take over or intervene militarily in Canada, Greenland, Colombia, and Iran; and weaponising tariffs to force political submission and extract territorial concession.

the law of the jungle and like to quote Thucydides, “the strong do what they can, while the weak suffer what they must”

seeking out new like-minded partners. By coming together in new coalitions of the willing, the impact of our stance on principles is magnified, a strategy that combines both adaptation and mitigation

since Mr Trump’s push on Greenland, European leaders have become more vocal and united in their opposition to America’s “Might Makes Right” approach to foreign relations.

If ASEAN gets its act together, it can harness its collective strength to better withstand the pressures and counter-pressures from the two rival powers, even as it strives to build good relations with each. But to do that effectively, it needs to get its internal house in order and not allow bilateral issues or narrow national interests to stymie a coordinated approach.

[closing BANG!] As our founding foreign minister reminds us in another speech, “so long as we remember that a crocodile is dangerous even when it is friendly, nothing is lost by observing diplomatic niceties”.

Qn: Do global challenges divide more than they unite? (VJC Prelim 2025)