In his trip to US this month, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong brought a S$19 billion deal through the national carrier, Singapore Airlines (SIA), and promised to continue stationing Singapore troops in Syria. According to US President Donald Trump, the $19 billion deal to purchase Boeing airplanes – 20 Boeing 777-9s and 19 787-10 Dreamliners – will bring 70,000 jobs to US for at least the next 10 years.
Lee Hsien Loong on the SIA-Boeing deal:
“The deal is a win-win for both sides. It will further modernise SIA’s fleet, and also support many American jobs.”
The Singapore dictator also committed to participate in the civil wars of Syria and Iraq, supporting the US political agenda of establishing a US-friendly government in the Middle East like Saudi Arabia:
“Singapore will extend to next year its existing deployment of Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) assets and personnel to the global coalition to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terror group…We are glad to have been of help.”
Lee Hsien Long’s trip to US pales in contrasts to his visit to China last month. The Chinese visit was lukewarm and peppered with lips service, with no notable business deals signed nor military cooperation agreement signed in writing. Singapore remains excluded from China’s One Belt One Road project, while the US-led Trans Pacific Pact was dissolved.
SIA posted a S$138 million loss and announced retrenchment in it’s recent quarter in May this year. It is unknown where did SIA get their S$19 billion funding from.