Good morning, everyone.
Now the first thing I have to get out of the way is that I have never served as part of the United Nations, nor have I served in any of Singapore’s permanent missions to the United Nations in Vienna, Geneva, and New York.
What can I say, I was more of a bilateral than a multilateral kind of guy during my time with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I did have some exposure to multilateral work though.
By the way, I take it that everyone here knows the difference between bilateral and multilateral? Yes? OK, cool.
The state of the United Nations
We are gathered here today and over the next few days to engage in a simulation. A simulation of a global body that has been simultaneously revered and reviled.
Those who belong to the first camp might argue that if it wasn’t for the UN and its various organs, World War 3 would have occurred long ago as nations continued to engage in armed conflict after 1945.
Conversely, one can also argue that armed conflict has been ever present in all of human history. Just because it has not broken out on a global scale, it does not justify the talking shop farce that the UN is sometimes reduced to.
Who can tell me what happened two decades ago that severely undermined the value of the UN?
Yes, the invasion of Iraq by the United States of America and its “allies”. Despite several UN reports indicating Iraqi cooperation with disarmament efforts, the US went ahead with its ultimatum to then Iraqi president to leave power before proceeding with the invasion.
That invasion changed the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East in ways that are still being felt to this day. Rising tensions between Iran and its Sunni Arab neighbours, the Syrian and Iraqi civil wars, the subsequent rise of the terrorists who called themselves the Islamic State – all of it arising out of the UN’s failure to prevent what was essentially a unilateral invasion by the greatest military power on Earth on dubious grounds.
There are other shortcomings of the UN – too many to go into detail here. And there have been some wins as well. There is one that is very, very important to Singapore. Can anyone tell me what that is?
Yes, the adoption of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1982. UNCLOS provides a comprehensive legal benchmark for the use and protection of the our oceans and their resources. Why is this important to Singapore? Because UNCLOS also ensures, amongst other things, freedom of navigation which is vital to our economy’s survival as a trading nation and is one of our core interests. We played a big role in making UNCLOS happen. It is one of the many achievements of Professor Tommy Koh, who is still an Ambassador-at-large to this day.
It’s all about interests
Former Permanent Secretary of MFA Bilahari Kausikan was fond of saying that “there are no permanent friends, only permanent interests”.
Which brings me to my next point. Who here believes that Singapore has a neutral foreign policy? Show of hands, let’s go.
Well, Singapore is not Switzerland – which is only neutral when it comes to armed conflict, by the way.
No, Singapore practices what is often referred to as a pragmatic and balanced foreign policy. There are many who will say that Singapore leans heavily westward towards the US and cite strong examples to back up their point. But here’s a fun fact – who is China’s largest investing country? Yeap, Singapore.
You see, Singapore will always act to secure its own interests. This is not unique to us. This will sometimes put us at odds with our neighbours here in Southeast Asia, and globally as well. Even Switzerland will vote on resolutions in the UN to secure its own interests.
So, if you don’t remember anything else from what I say today, remember this as you undertake your respective roles at this Model UN – when engaging in negotiations, always remember what your key interests are and work towards securing them. Even better if you can make the outcome seem like a compromise that benefits all sides. Trust me, in reality, when it seems like everyone will benefit, eventually no one benefits.
What a diplomat really does
So how does a diplomat secure their country’s interests? There is no real manual to diplomacy. If you notice, most diplomats tend to write memoirs rather than instructional books. I hope to change that one day. In MFA Singapore, there are training materials but nothing I can talk about here without going to jail. Just kidding. Or not.
But here are my top three tip on how a diplomat can be effective.
First – appreciate everybody. And I do mean everybody. The doorman at a swanky apartment building could tell you more about when is a good time to “bump” into an important contact. The diplomat of a small country could help you swing a resolution in your favour. That dude who never puts back his weights after his reps at the gym could be a football regular with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. That last one is semi-fictional by the way.
Now, I don’t mean that you have to do favours to everybody you meet. That is just impossible. But don’t be too quick to dismiss someone and learn to recognise your own prejudices.
Second – learn to manage information well. It helps if you have a good memory. But learning to take down written or typed notes can easily overcome the disadvantage of a weak memory. Your generation is supposedly somewhat impaired in this regard, because you all grew up in the age of the internet. Handwritten notes are not an everyday thing like it was for me.
But beyond just remembering things, it is about learning to analyse information and draw links between seemingly disparate incidents and/or pieces of information. For example, I remember in 2017, there was a cabinet reshuffle in Saudi Arabia, and I suggested to some of my counterparts from other embassies in Riyadh that the then-Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman was making a move to depose the then-Crown Prince Mohammad bin Naif. One of my counterparts pooh-poohed the notion. I was proven right just two months later.
The important thing here is that you must base your analysis on facts. Not ideas, not possibilities, but facts. From the facts you have on hand, try to make an assessment of possible outcomes.
How do you get more facts? Go out and talk to other diplomats. Trade your information with theirs. As a diplomat, your main currency is information. Learn to gather it, trade it, and wield it like a well-honed weapon.
My third and final point – never work alone. Thanks to the wonders of storytelling and the Hollywood effect combined with the internet, it seems like everyone is going for main character energy. But even Steve Rogers needed the Avengers. So, in practical terms – what I’m saying is establish what resources are at your disposal. Your colleagues back home at headquarters, diplomats representing other countries, everyone on your contact list – yes including the doorman at that swanky apartment building.
Play is important
I must confess to you that in drafting this speech, my biggest difficulty was overcoming a cynicism that had been bred and nurtured within me over the years I spent in MFA. Because if I give in to that cynicism, then the inevitable conclusion I come to is that the Model UN is little more than child’s play.
But then I thought about it some more, and realised that while I am a former diplomat, I am currently a parent. And over the last 11 years, I’ve learnt that play is important – and not just for children either. Learning through play is advantageous and complementary to classroom learning. If you have attended Outward Bound School, you know what experiential learning is. I see simulation play as a vital subset of this. I believe there is no substitute for experience but this is as close as you’re going to get to one.
So over the next few days, go wild. Make friends and use them but never disrespect them. Find new and interesting ways to tell the truth and discover what truths others hold – but never resort to outright lies. Go out there and secure your interests using all the means you have at your disposal.
And most of all – have fun. It can and should be fun.
I thank you for bearing with me for the last fifteen minutes or so. And I hope you have a good Model UN experience.
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