Singapore will not take sides in geopolitical conflicts and instead will take positions that support the rule of law, Minister of Education Chan Chun Sing said in his keynote speech at the Morgan Stanley Asia Pacific Summit, CNBC reported.

He said the world must remain interdependent despite pressure to split, because any kind of split would make individual countries suboptimal and suffer economically.

“With interdependence comes risk, but a fragmented world with less interdependence, where people and major countries believe that they can enhance their security, and indirectly aggravate the insecurities of another country, that cannot be a win-win situation,” Chan said. 

“It’s important to remember that a more interdependent world is a safer world. But today, because of the pressures, both domestically and globally, there is a temptation to think that if the world fragments, two different blocs, each of the different blocs would be safer.” 

He called the war in Ukraine and the World Trade Organization dispute settlement crisis some of the cracks in the system. Addressing business leaders and investors directly at the investment conference, Chan called for global integration.