[Scythian]

Professor Kishore Mahbubani believed that Qatar’s fundamental error was to have acted without considering its power position as a “small state”. He saw its regional difficulties as a product of its hubris and, turning to Singapore, had the following advice for small states:

What’s the first thing we should do? Exercise discretion. We should be very restrained in commenting on matters involving great powers.
Hence, it would have been wiser to be more circumspect on the judgment of an international tribunal on the arbitration which the Philippines instituted against China concerning the South China Sea dispute, especially since the Philippines, which was involved in the case, did not want to press it.
When I hear some of our official representatives say that we should take a “consistent and principled” stand on geopolitical issues, I am tempted to remind them that consistency and principle are important, but cannot be the only traits that define our diplomacy. And there is a season for everything. The best time to speak up for our principles is not necessarily in the heat of a row between bigger powers."
https://understated.home.blog/2021/10/09...r%20powers.