Foreign Policy and Singapore - Philippines Relations

Singapore’s Foreign Policy

The fundamental principles of Singapore’s Foreign Policy are:

  • As a small state, Singapore has no illusions about the state of our region or the world.
  • We need to maintain a credible and deterrent military defence to underpin our foreign policy.
  • We must promote and work for good relations with our neighbours in all spheres.
  • We are friends with all those who wish to be friends with us.
  • We stand by our friends who have stood by us in times of need.
  • We fully support and are committed to ASEAN.
  • We work to maintain a secure and peaceful environment in and around Southeast Asia and in the Asia Pacific region.
  • We must work to maintain a free and open multilateral trading system.
  • We are ready to trade with any state for mutual benefit and will maintain an open market economy.
  • We will support and be active in international organisations such as the UN.

Singapore – Philippine Relations

Singapore and the Philippines enjoy warm and friendly relations. Both countries cooperate well on a range of issues at the international and regional forums. Bilateral ties are wide ranging, from an exceptionally strong economic relationship to a flourishing arts and culture scene.

Established in 1998, the Philippines-Singapore Action Plan (PSAP) is a broad-based and comprehensive umbrella framework that covers co-operation in various areas including trade and investment, information technology, capital market development, education, culture, defence, and people-to-people exchanges. Under the PSAP, there are now frequent people-to-people exchanges, joint agreements in culture, joint marketing efforts in tourism and institutional linkages for IT cooperation.

Economic Relations

Singapore maintains good trade links with the Philippines. The Philippines is currently Singapore's 12th largest trading partner, with bilateral trade totaling S$ 22.3 billion in 2010. Electronics accounts for a large proportion of bilateral trade. Singapore is the Philippines' 4th largest trading partner (after Japan, China and the US) and its top trading partner in ASEAN (after Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia).