One Envoy’s Take on China’s Hardball Diplomacy

China has been throwing its weight for over 60 years and only now more countries are in their cross hairs. When you have an arrogant perspective of being divine and right all the time then this behavior is not a surprise.

Couple this with the personification of being a " victim" in disputes with most countries is a Chinese version in most disputes. Why I don't know and most irritating

I am pleased (and perhaps a little surprised) by Mr. Kausikan's candour. Whether or not anyone in Beijing is paying attention remains to be seen.

More generally, the Singaporean diplomat's remarks serve to highlight what many had long ago concluded--that China has done much damage to its interests by resorting to boorish and even bone-headed regional diplomatic behaviour since 2008.

Yet another example of the hubris that hubris that has dominated the Communist Party's policy making elites since the Great Financial Crisis of 2008... and which has been even more prevalent under Mr. Xi's leadership.

Would China regret lending so much money to the U.S. and it only met the battleships in the China Sea?

Sanctions of the Chinese economy is long overdue. The vicious dictatorship is not only using the profits to buy up property in other countries, but is also actively abusing the human rights of the minorities in China, in violation of international agreements and Chinese laws as well. The world need to stop importing Chinese junk, where the profit is being used to dominate other countries, as if China had the right to be a world dictator as well. Think about it! If we stop importing Chinese junk, we will effectively shut down a high number of polluting coal fired power plants as well.

Ambassador Bilahari provides invaluable insights into the diplomacy conducted by China. The diplomatic episodes that he presents open a rich window into how Beijing projects its military and financial power. These insights are important for historians, and others, as they provide a graphic narrative of Chinese negotiating style.

This is purely and mischievously one-sided.

For one, Singapore is not a good example for good neighborliness in its own backyard. Singapore is loathed and most of the time hated around its neighborhood.

Secondly, what this article suggested was more fitting to the West and particularly the US around the world than Chinese.

China is being loathed around the neighbourhood exactly because the neighbours bore too much atrocities towards its overseas Chinese diaspora when China was weak and vulnerable. Many fear that an eventual retribution will come when the time is ripe.

All China does is to reclaim back all that it lost and also its lost prestige which was so mercilessly taken advantage of.

I support a stronger response by China further to shoo away Western/US influence from our region.

Yankees fxxx off from Asia!

Great fun to hear more about the usually off-the-record chatter between diplomats. The story is sure to anger China. I love it.

Ask a Taiwanese about Chinese manners and you will get an earful about how big brother lords it over his younger sibling. A nation run and brainwashed by entitled princelings.

Growing up in China, in my Geography/Social Study class, to describe most border states sorroundings China, there is always condition before the main topic
"They are small country,"

This occurred in my elementary school, and I am surprised the saying bridged to current state, though I don't think there is anything we can do, or we should do, only dictadorship needs this to fill the public's ego, hope they can grow out of it

This is a difficult attitude that the Chinese people take. We had 4 Chinese professionals visit with us for 2 weeks. In that entire 2 weeks, about the only thing they would talk about, was the greatness of the Chinese state, the wonders of the Chinese governmental organization, how much the Chinese society had advanced, how quickly they were advancing and on and on. It was patriotic enthusiasm taken to the extreme. From our point of view, it was very strange. In fact, it was disconcerting to think that the entire Chinese nation most probably believed in the great superiority of China, a mind set that we all felt, might take China down a rode that everyone, other than they, really would rather not take (well, except of course, perhaps John McCain and Messrs. Trump and Cruz).

It appears that ambassador Bilahari Kausikan is easily offended but his concern that Chinese diplomats perversely often go out of their way to accentuate rather than assuage anxieties does focus on a central theme of the in-house discussions of international relations in China and that is directing diplomacy toward building cooperative relations are toward ancient notions of hegemony. The Middle Kingdom has not reached a point of asking for Tribute but some will demand Respect while wiser voices assert that that is not the world we live in any more. In the field one is likely to run into both types but policy makers seem to be forcefully moving toward peaceful cooperative relations while also insisting that China is back. Will be interesting to see the outcome of the Obama-Xi interchange in D.C. this week.

Chinese actions are ominously reminiscent of Japan's Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere that involved the same areas and the same countries. That plan didn't work out too well.

Everyone else has to suffer through it, when it comes to dealing with China, and it's all because of trade and money. US is probably secretly cheering on China's arrogance since that would only push these ASEAN countries into the arms of US, as shown in their all-too-readiness and eagerness to get the TPP deal done, as a counterweight to the China trade.

If anything, it only goes to show how little Beijing understands what it truly means playing politics (which is way more than just playing hardball, all the time).

Obama plays Golf or goes to Baseball games while the "bad guys" do as they wish.

I don't know why but this reminds me of the mega mega-mansion problem in Beverly Hills.

Chinese diplomats seem to have overlooked the fact that there's a world outside of China that exists and must be recognized and treated with respect. China's hard handed treatment of the Asean member states position regarding the South China Sea issue has consequences that will come back to haunt them. The seeds of mistrust have been planted by China. Whether China continues to water those seeds will soon be evident. Let's see what the Chinese response will be to the soon be released decision by the UN-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) regarding the so called nine-dash line. As an outsider trying to discern China's mind set, it seems that the Chinese are shooting themselves in the both feet by claiming 80% of the S China Sea as their historic right and not recognizing the competing claims of their Asean neighbors.

It's quite a bold statement for a Singaporean diplomat to attack China directly, given that just a few months ago all Chinese leaders were fawning over Singapore's political and economic model while singing the praises of the late founder and leader Lee Kwan Yew at Singapore 50's anniversary party.

Could this diplomat make such a statement if he wasn't convinced that the top Asean countries ex-Thailand (Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines) are at last preparing a united riposte to China?

I truly can see his point, but when you deal with super power, no matter whether you like them or not, they would acting best interest of their own, come to hotel selecting, remember not very long ago at G8 conference, Obama insist using hotel GYM for himself only, even kick out Russian PM Putin… it is not nice to say, smaller countries do not have equal voice or should not be equal respect, but in the end, super power is super power (aka big brother), they will never put other countries interest ahead of their own….

With an angry, drunken Panda staggering around the neighborhood, those F-35's sell themselves.

I worked in China in the mid-80's when their economic miracle was beginning. You could not trust them then and cannot trust them now. The Chinese leadership does not care about the lives of people in other countries, only their own power. Case in point is the diversion of water of the Mekong River.