two points. first of all, the ipsos survey seems to us a little bit of an outlier in the context of other surveys, internal and public, that we have. at the same time, i did say to you that attitudes are shifting, but i m not quite sure they are shifting as much as what ipsos has said. the second point is i said that we are in deep consultations with stakeholders, including lgbtq+ community, as well as others, and you know, system of cabinet responsibility, what we are going to do can only be announced once a decision is reached. i m in no position to answer that question with finality at this point. last year, the economist magazine, which has some influence, it referred to a rising tide of ugliness with regard to racial discrimination in singapore, which it said is provoking a reckoning over race.
dropped its objections to finland and swedenjoining nato after spending weeks refusing to do so. turkey had accused both countries of harbouring kurdish militants but says it has now got what it wanted from talks at the summit in madrid. now on bbc news, it s hardtalk with stephen sackur. welcome to hardtalk. i m stephen sackur. singapore is a city state that has thrived in the era of globalisation, international supply chains and mobile workers. but what happens when the geopolitical weather changes? when great power hostility and economic nationalism hold sway? well, my guest is singapore s long serving home minister, k shanmugam. is singapore s political and economic balancing act sustainable in a world of rising tensions?
situation you find yourselves in in singapore. you ve traditionally tried to maintain very good relations with the great powers in your region. that is, of course, china, but also the united states. that s becoming increasingly difficult as hostility grows between washington and beijing. you re going to have to pick sides. which side will you pick? no, we will not pick sides. i think, you know, for us, it s important that we deal and navigate in the environment. but picking sides is not the right way to go. i mean, the us and china. ..everyone can see the tensions are deep. 0n the side of the us, there is a bipartisan thinking, that consensus that china poses a direct threat. it s as though an us versus them mentality. in china, there is a growing perception that the east is rising, the west is declining, and that the us is seeking to contain china, constrain china s growth. so the tense relations
continue this way. more bifurcation of technology and supply chains, or worse. but singapore, like many other countries in this region, will want to maintain good relations with both washington and beijing. that may not be possible, and it may be that it isn t just about us china, it s about authoritarians and democratic systems increasingly polarised around the world. you ve made a stand on ukraine. you re one of the few asian countries that has imposed sanctions on russia. your pm called the putin invasion an unprovoked invasion of a sovereign country. that suggests to me that right now, in terms of values and worldview, you are actually closer to washington than you are to beijing. we also opposed the us invasion in grenada. so it s a matter of principle. it s not choosing one over the other. as a small country with a very keen eye towards survival,
you know, we have rational health care policies, rational economic policies. we have continued growing, we have managed our economy. so there s been a flight to quality. people look around, they say, which countries are safe? which countries are safe to be physically in? which countries are safe to put your money in? and there has been a flight to quality, there has been a movement to singapore, money as well as people. and i think there is an appreciation that singapore is one of the good places to do business in. sadly, minister k shanmugam, we have to end there, but i do thank you very much indeed forjoining me on hardtalk. hello there.