On June 26th, Bilahari Kausikan will take part in the Singapore Strategic Seminar organized by the ESSEC Institute for Geopolitics & Business on the ESSEC campus for Asia-Pacific. Amb. Kausikan is the former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore. In this sharp interview, he covers leading themes of the EU / South East Asia relationships, from defense to economic cooperation.
Ambassador Bilahari Kausikan
During the recent 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, speakers discussed Europe's role in the Asia-Pacific region, especially in the field of security. Bearing in mind the tense military situation in Europe on the Ukraine front, do you expect the European Union (EU) to play a role in Southeast Asia while reinforcing deterrence against Russia? Should the Europeans limit themselves to the European theater?
Amb. Bilahari Kausikan - I do not expect Europe to do much more than what it currently does. After decades of neglect, Europe now has to substantially increase defence spending both for itself and to help Ukraine, not just for a few years but for at least a decade if not longer. At the same time the European social model is unsustainable as a matter of demographic certainty. Rough waters are ahead for the European Union and I am not yet convinced ‘Europe’ – which is something of an abstraction – will sustain the political will to make and sustain the tough choices that lie ahead. Your biggest contribution will be to do more in your own defence so that American resources can be redeployed to the Indo-Pacific.
In-between the US and China, two rival superpowers, what does Southeast Asia expect from Europeans? In times of crisis, is there still a "European model"?
BK - As I just mentioned, ‘Europe’ is something of an abstraction and most Southeast Asian countries tend to focus on a few key bilateral relationships with a few EU members. The so-called ‘European model’ was never as attractive as some European countries thought it was and I don’t think this will change in substance although it will suit the interests of a few Southeast Asian countries to flatter you by pretending to believe otherwise, and it will suit the interests of a few EU members to pretend to believe them. We generally see ‘Europe’ more in economic rather than military or strategic terms although a few ‘European’ countries have useful diplomatic roles.
At a time when free trade is under repeated attack, do you feel Europeans and Asians can work together in this field, and does it make sense for Europe to join the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) despite possible discrepancies on labor rights, environmental protection or data governance?
BK - The EU is itself not a model of free-trade. Under the guise of promoting a slew of worthy causes, you have deployed many regulatory frameworks whose impact has been protectionist even if the justification is not ostensibly protectionist. So don’t fool yourself that you are regarded as a shining example of free-trade. That said, the EU is welcome to negotiate its participation in the CPTPP. But keep the discussions on trade and curb your worst instincts to bring in extraneous issues. Can you do this? I don’t take it for granted as your instinct to whip the heathen along the path of what you consider righteousness is deeply ingrained in European identity.
ABOUT AMBASSADOR BILAHARI KAUSIKAN
Bilahari Kausikan spent his entire career in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore (MFA). Over 37 years in MFA, he served in a variety of appointments at home and abroad. These included Ambassador to the Russian Federation, Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, Deputy Secretary for South-east Asia, Second Permanent Secretary, and subsequently Permanent Secretary. Upon retiring in 2013, he was appointed Ambassador-at-Large, a position he held until 2018.
Mr Kausikan became Chairman of the Middle East Institute, an autonomous institute of the National University of Singapore, in 2017, and retired in 2024, but remains associated with the institute as Distinguished Fellow.
Mr Kausikan has published four books -- “Dealing with an Ambiguous World” (2016), “Singapore Is Not An Island” (2017), “Singapore Is Still Not An Island” (2023), and The Myth of the Asian Century (2025) -- along with many articles in local and international journals. He continues to lecture on global geopolitics, and developments in North-east Asia, the Middle East, and South-east Asia, to universities and other educational institutions in Singapore and abroad, as well as corporations and financial institutions.
Raffles Institution, the University of Singapore and Columbia University all attempted to educate him but should not be held responsible for the consequences?es.