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Synopsis :

In a question and answer session on issues facing Singapore in the 1980s, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Culture S.Dhanabalan notes that the kind of support Singapore gets in the United Nations (UN) has made it easier for the government to maintain its position that there will be no aid to Vietnam as long as it remains in Cambodia. This shows that there are very real results on positions taken by Singapore in the UN. On the suspicion that Singapore is a Chinese state because of the Speak Mandarin Campaign, Mr. Dhanbalan stresses that we are Singaporeans first regardless of our ethnic background. The campaign is often misunderstood by our own people and does not merit serious consideration in foreign relations. On the issue of Cambodia, ASEAN is putting pressure on the Vietnamese to withdraw from Cambodia although ASEAN is not affected directly by events there. ASEAN can afford to wait, but as the Cambodians are adversely affected by the Vietnamese occupation, a quick solution is needed. Three factions in Cambodia are considering forming a coalition and ASEAN is trying to help in the process. Mr. Dhanabalan also says that India's recognition of the Vietnamese installed Heng Samrin regime in Cambodia could be a setback to relations between ASEAN and India. The ZOPFAN Declaration which makes ASEAN  a Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality ensures that Soviet presence in the region is balanced with the presence of another superpower like the US. He says that  non alignment needs two or more powers that want to get you on their side. You don't sell your national interests to promote the interests of either power. When your interests coincide with one of the powers, you work with that power.