3. The United Nations (UN) plays an important role as an organisation representing all the countries in the world in international relations. Today, the UN has a membership of 192 countries. On 21st September 1965, Singapore joined the United Nations, an international organisation. Aims: To facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace. Singapore and the United Nations
4. Singapore’s participation in international relations Singapore was admitted as the 117th UN member on 21 September. Singapore played an important part in the UN Law of the Sea Conference which was organised to decide on the territorial rights of a country over its water.
5. Singapore’s participation in international relations Singapore resolves conflicts between nations and helps nations that are in need of external aid to resolve their own crisis. Example: =In April 2006, riots broke out in East Timor there following rivalry within the military and police =40 people killed and over 20,000 fled their homes. =Fighting broke out in May 2006. =UN took action and Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Singapore sent troops to Timor, attempting to quell the violence.
6. Singapore’s participation in international relations Singapore participates in various UN peacekeeping operations. By 2005, Singapore was involved in 13 operations in 11 different countries and contributed approximately 1,500 personnel for these UN Missions.
7. Benefits of international relations to Singapore By being a member of the United Nations, Singapore, though being a small country, would be internationally recognised as a sovereign state. would greatly benefit our nation, as transnational companies would know about our existence in the Southeast Asia region. brings about the possibility of them investing in this country, giving rise to the economic success in Singapore.
8. With the backing of the UN, Singapore’s safety would be enhanced as other countries would be less discouraged to start a war with our nation who provided help to them. Benefits of international relations to Singapore
9. With these peacekeeping operations, other nations that received help from Singapore will be gracious. Singapore would be able to gain new ally countries and improve relations with other nations. Therefore, in times of need, Singapore would greatly benefit as her ally countries would help her in turn. Benefits of international relations to Singapore
10. The world is getting smaller and smaller due to technology advancements and globalisation. International relations is the most important for our nation because it would bring benefits to Singapore in terms of security and economic power. Singapore’s security can be greatly enhanced due to her backing, and her economic power will increase as more people will lay trust here. Result : a lot more investors plus tourists will come to this place. Benefits of international relations to Singapore
11. Argument Why is this diplomacy more beneficial than the other forms of diplomacy?
12. Involves only two countries Conflicts can happen easily between the two countries Singapore will be in a difficult situation if two of her allies are in dispute When two countries are in dispute, there is no organization to help to resolve the argument and may lead to inevitable wars Bilateral relations
13. Bilateral relations are complex and have experienced many highs and lows over the last 40 years. For example, Singapore has several long-standing disputes with Malaysia over a number of issues: 1.Deliveries of fresh water to singapore 2.maritime boundaries Bilateral relations
14. -Going out to the world- The first rejection of bilateralism came after the first world war when many politicians concluded that the complex pre-war system of bilateral treaties had made war inevitable. Bilateral relations only involve two countries while international relations involve countries across the globe. With a big group in hand, conflicts can be resolved more easily as everyone can deal with the problems together. A group of people works better than alone. Bilateral relations
15. Involves only a region and not the whole globe At times, when things go out of hand for ASEAN, it still needs help from a larger organization which is the UN as it involves more powerful countries and more help can also be rendered Regional Relations
16. Western countries have criticized ASEAN for being too "soft" in its approach to promoting human rights and democracy in the junta-led Myanmar. Despite global outrage at the military crack-down on peaceful protesters in Yangon, ASEAN has refused to suspend Myanmar as a member and also rejects proposals for economic sanctions. This has caused concern as the European Union, a potential trade partner, has refused to conduct free trade negotiations at a regional level for these political reasons. Regional Relations
17. Singapore will benefit more (socially and economically) if she steps out of its own boundary and have good relations with the more influential countries instead of having good relations with a few countries Singapore can get more friend countries due to the larger scale of the UN and the international relations it forges With more help = more benefits = progresses at a faster rate Regional Relations
18. “Singapore will continue to be deeply committed to the UN. The UN is not perfect, but it is the best institution similar to a world government that we have. Small countries like Singapore need the UN, and must play a positive role in supporting it.” -PM GohChok Tong in a speech at the UN 50th anniversary meeting in Oct 1995 Therefore
19. Social Studies Textbook http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_relations http://www.globalissues.org/article/92/crisis-in-east-timor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilateralism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_Singapore Bibliography
