An Analysis On Singapore's Bilateral FTA Diplomacy

Located in the Southeast Asia, Singapore is one of the smallest countries in the world with small land and lack of natural resources. However, Singapore's economy is one of the most developed in the world. To a large extent, this success attributed to its active foreign economic policy. Till now, Singapore is one of the countries who signed most bilateral free trade agreements in the world. These FTAs not only promote Singapore's economic prosperity, but also ensure Singapore's survival and security as an economic diplomacy along with its great power balancing strategy. Thus, Singapore's choice of its FTA partners is not aimless. On the contrary, they are the most selective targets based on its basic principle of Singapore's survival, national security and economic prosperity. This paper systematically investigates Singapore's FTA diplomatic process and shows how Singapore uses FTA diplomacy to become a "hub" country and safeguard its national prosperity.