Speaking To A Retired Agent Of Foreign Influence
I don’t know how busy our boys at ISD are, but it is not everyday that you get to speak with an agent of foreign influence. Since the passing of the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act (FICA), I suspect we will hear much less of these individuals. And yet, here he was, not just a retired agent of foreign influence, but one who used those very words on himself.
Mr. Bilahari Kausikan was a diplomat for many years, representing Singapore in various countries such as Russia and the United Nations. In his words, he had spent 37 years trying to exert influence on other countries before his retirement in 2018. He was almost amused when we asked about FICA as it was clear to him that the law does not attempt to outlaw all foreign interference. That would have been a waste of time since every country always tries in one way or another to influence the actions of other nations.
Beyond diplomats such as himself, negotiators for treaties and trade deals perform similar functions, trying to get other countries to make concessions or decisions that are favourable to our national interests. A key distinction needs to be made, however, of whether such influences are openly declared or subtly pursued.
Guess the ambassador to Russia and the Russian troll account. Picture credits: Rolling Stone
Imagine all the hearts that would break. Picture Credits: Cinema Chaat, 四季線上
In fact, the entire history of modern Singapore is filled with relics of the British colonial empire. Mr. Bilahari even noted that we have roads named after personalities from other countries, such as the contentious Petain Rd named after a World War I hero general from France, but who ended up becoming a Nazi collaborator in World War II. Should all these be rejected by Singaporean society in 2021 in our efforts to combat foreign influence?
Not exactly, as these soft power elements in popular culture and media do not directly attempt to covertly influence national decisions or interests. Bollywood doesn’t secretly fund a campaign in Singapore to replace Tamil with Hindi as an official language, and neither does the government of France secretly funnel resources into pushing its version of secularism into Singapore.
Not a clandestine operation. Picture Credits: Den of Geek
FICA aside, it was very refreshing to be able to hear the views of someone whose professional career revolved around international affairs. Mr. Bilahari has sometimes been jokingly referred to as the ‘undiplomatic diplomat’, in reference to his candid views that to some border on being overly blunt. That realpolitik view of the world came to the fore when talking about the events unfolding in Myanmar and Afghanistan. While some have been discussing the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan as an ideological or religious triumph, others viewed it as a symbol of American hubris and decline.
To the chairman of the NUS Middle East Institute, however, described it as a humanitarian disaster in the making but a geopolitically correct move on the part of the Americans. In Myanmar, an activist group claims that the death toll from the coup has crossed the grim thousand milestone. Yet, for the humanitarian crisis it undoubtedly is, he warned against exaggerating the extent of it, as human history has seen far larger tragedies in the wake of political turmoil. Besides, he added, what more can the international community do besides isolating a government that wants to be isolated?
His essays don’t make for light reading. Picture Credits: Redbubble
When accused of being an ‘undiplomatic diplomat’, however, he retorts that those who say that probably do not know what diplomacy is. It is not the art of angkat bola, as the locals say, but rather a conscious effort to get what is in the diplomat’s national interests. Sometimes, these efforts can be directly at odds with the host country’s own development or security interests.
He recalled a conversation early in Singapore’s history, when the fall of the Soviet Union seemed imminent and the Americans were eager to claim victory at the end of history. They had wanted to exert their ideologies and systems into the budding nation, and the diplomatic thing to do was to warn them against overestimating their appeal and support from the local population.
Looking at the state of American society today, I know more than one would be grateful we charted our own path. As he admitted, sometimes the instructions and directives from the capital are stupid. But it is up to the diplomat to exercise common sense in how they approach their goals. Blindly exerting influence in an area and manner that makes no sense to the local context can only spell trouble. And now, maybe a knock from FICA as well.
Click on the links below to listen to the 3-part podcast on Plan B on Spotify.
Part 1: Bilahari Kausikan
Part 2: Bilahari Kausikan
Part 3: Bilahari Kausikan
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