[teaserteam]

Mr Lee had said in 2009: "Small countries have little power to alter the region, let alone the world. A small country must seek a maximum number of friends, while maintaining the freedom to be itself as a sovereign and independent nation... We must make ourselves relevant so that other countries have an interest in our continued survival and prosperity as a sovereign and independent nation."

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/t...e-survival

“Singapore has to take the world as it is; it is too small to change it. But we can maximise the space we have to manoeuvre among the ‘big trees’ in the region. That has been our approach and we will have to be nimble and resourceful to be able to continue doing so,”

https://www.rsis.edu.sg/rsis-publication...-relevant/