The last of the four country surveys, this chapter looks at Russia’s bilateral relations with the three remaining maritime Southeast Asian states: Singapore, the Philippines and East Timor/Timor-Leste. None has ever had strong political, economic or security ties with Moscow, and all three of them strongly condemned Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Singapore and the Philippines have close defence ties with the United States and have never made any major purchases of Russian defence equipment. Of the three countries, Singapore, a trading entrepot, has shown the most interest in developing commercial ties with Russia, though economic engagement has been modest. The Philippines, a treaty ally of the United States since independence, has occasionally flirted with Moscow but always returned to Washington’s embrace. As for Timor-Leste, Moscow played a minor role in the country’s struggle for independence but has since lost Dili’s respect because of its egregious violation of Ukraine’s rights under the United Nations (UN) Charter.

Singapore-Russia Relations

In the Cold War era, Singapore viewed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) as a threat to regional security and a country of limited economic value. Post-Cold War, Singapore’s perceptions of Russia were reversed, a recognition of its economic potential and its vastly reduced power projection capabilities after the collapse of the Soviet Empire.