2.27.2007
Brazen barter
News source: Indonesia bans sand to Singapore
In modern day diplomacy, brazen bartering bares its head. Making a mountain out of a molehill seems to have turned into an art integral to intergovernmental exchanges, as nations mutually utilize wars of words and baseless accusations to outwit and manipulate others.
Most recently, the Indonesian government has decided to ban sand exports to Singapore, which has started a chain of condemnations by both sides. Singaporean speculation about the motives of this action and an Indonesian admission that the ban was actually about more than the environment have sparked fears of a diplomatic breakdown amid rising tensions. The criticality of sand to Singaporean development is obvious - sand is used to manufacture concrete for construction.
Being a Singaporean, my views could be distorted or biased by psychological tendency to side Singapore, but this does not discount the obvious faults that both sides have. They mutually blame each other for the dispute, and yet do nothing to alleviate the points of contention. One cannot possibly comprehend the true intentions of both governments. Singaporean newspapers have portrayed this issue as injustice towards Singapore, claiming that Indonesia was indeed intentionally forcing Singapore into an extradition treaty. Is Indonesia providing a false pretext of environmental conservation to provoke Singapore?
Of course, from the Indonesian perspective, Singapore’s demands for long, exhaustive talks to discuss the extradition treaty seem unreasonable as well. It seems that the reputation of Singaporean kiasu-ism and arrogance has already spread across borders, and neighbours are finding innovative new ways of pressuring the cold unwavering Singaporean stance. Often, Singapore can be seen to be giving an inferiority complex to other nations, indulging in self-praise of its flawless systems of government and ‘garden city’ status. And yet Singapore refuses to acknowledge Indonesian efforts to solve internal problems like corruption and the environment. As much as Singapore fails to see the causal relationship between extradition and sand, much can be done to prevent such spats in the future.
Regardless of frustration, governments should not resort to cutting off supplies in order to apply pressure in the diplomatic process. One cannot blame nations for protecting their own self-interest. Indeed, it is human nature to take the best for oneself. However, in the shadow of globalisation and world trade, nations can no longer afford to fuel hostilities, and should work towards resolution, rather than pulling in other completely unrelated points to feed the poisonous broth. Even long-time foes India and Pakistan recently mended their messy relations.
World leaders have spoken at great length about world peace without effect, so maybe there ought to be a ban on mountain manufacturing too, irrespective of whether the molehills are sandy or otherwise.
# posted by splot @ 23:17
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