Biden invites 110 countries including Malaysia, Indonesia & Philippines to democracy summit, but not Singapore?

Did you get invited to Joe Biden's big democracy party? Poland did. So did the Philippines. And Iraq. Even our close neighbours Malaysia and Indonesia got invited. But why not Singapore? The republic is not on the list of 110 countries to participate in an upcoming US Summit for Democracy, slated for Dec 9 and 10. On the guest list is Poland, which was recently accused of human rights violations over a military standoff with migrants at the border with Belarus. Belarus has not been invited. Another invitee is the Philippines, which until recently was being probed for massive human rights abuses during current president, Rodrigo Duterte's term in office. Thousands of drug peddlers there have been executed by law enforcement there, with the tacit approval of Mr Duterte. Then there's Iraq, where the UN refugee agency says more than 6.5 million people – some 18 per cent of the population – are "in need of humanitarian assistance and protection". Online, the perceived slight has been commented on by a slew of netizens, some sarcastically, others with tongue in cheek, and some with... ummm, let's call it umbrage. On HardwareZone, for instance, user Zorrah complained: "It is a total disgrace for Singapore that the USA, our strongest ally, do not consider us as democratic country. They are saying we are effectively a banana republic or an autocratic country. Why our ministers don't protest?" User zoomzoom1 criticised the US summit as being "quite flawed" for inviting autocratic countries and semi-autocratic countries "to talk about defending against authoritarianism and corruption, heh good luck with that."

Mothership reported on Nov 24 that it understands from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that Singapore had not been invited.

Interestingly, countries such as Poland, Turkey, and the Philippines, whose leaders have been criticised as autocratic, are among the countries invited to participate in the summit. Additionally, in a move that has angered China, the US included Taiwan in its list of invited nations but did not invite China itself. The list of 110 participants was published on Tuesday (Nov 23) on the US State Department website.

The gathering has been described by the White House as "an opportunity for world leaders to listen to one another and to their citizens, share successes, drive international collaboration, and speak honestly about the challenges facing democracy".

As announced in August,  the virtual summit's overt objective is to “bring together leaders from a diverse group of the world’s democracies” in order to “galvanize commitments and initiatives across three principal themes: defending against authoritarianism, fighting corruption, and promoting respect for human rights".

All European Union member states are invited except for Hungary, now ruled by far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Turkey is also notably absent. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has grown closer to Russia of late, and also shows an authoritarian hand in ruling the country.

From the Middle East, only Iraq and long-standing US ally Israel were invited.

Notable on the Asian side of the guest list, apart from the Philippines, are India, Japan, and South Korea. Thailand and Vietnam, like Singapore, are absent from the list.

“The invitation list for Biden's summit, which will be held Dec. 9-10, underscores the messy nature of 21st-century democracy and U.S. relations with certain allies and partners,” according to one report.

The Foreign Ministry of Taiwan acknowledged the invitation to the summit, saying it would be represented by its de facto ambassador in Washington, Hsiao Bi-khim, as well as Digital Minister Audrey Tang.

The Foreign Ministry said, "Our country's invitation to participate in the 'Summit for Democracy' is an affirmation of Taiwan's efforts to promote the values of democracy and human rights over the years.” 

A spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry said: “US actions only go to show democracy is just a cover and a tool for it to advance its geopolitical objectives, oppress other countries, divide the world and serve its own interests.”

China, he said, is "firmly opposed" to Taiwan being invited.

US President Biden has said he intends to host a second summit, which will be in person. The aim of the follow-up meeting is to "take stock of the progress made and forge a common path ahead.” /TISG

Read also: Biden says US not seeking ‘Cold War’ as he vows to lead

https://theindependent.sg/biden-says-us-not-seeking-cold-war-as-he-vows-to-lead/