#36-Bilahari Kausikan : Hard Truths For The Coming Multipolar World

Bilahari Kausikan is a Singaporean academic and retired diplomat.

He was the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the former ambassador to the UN and Russia.

Before his retirement, Bilahari was the Chairman of the Middle East Institute at the National University of Singapore.

In this episode, he unpacks the dilemmas and challenges that Singapore and Southeast Asia face in an age of intensifying US-China competition.

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Trailer & Intro

01:33 Bilahari's Take on GE2025

05:09 Navigating an Ambiguous World

08:27 The Evolution of International Order

16:35 Why Singapore Is Better Prepared

17:33 US-China And The New Cold War?

31:16 America's Political Dilemmas

36:46 How Southeast Asia Is Adapting To A Rising China

42:42 The South China Sea Challenge47:52 Can China Benefit From Trump

51:33 The Gaza Dilemma

01:07:19 How Singapore Should Respond

01:12:21 Singapore's Unique Identity

01:17:56 Advice For The Young

Full transcripts of episodes can be found here: https://www.ykeith.com/tag/podcast/