6 people hospitalised after gastroenteritis outbreak at 3 MindChamps preschools
SINGAPORE: Six people were hospitalised following a gastroenteritis outbreak at three MindChamps preschools, authorities said in a news release on Tuesday (May 30)
A total of 89 people – 79 children and 10 staff members – from the preschools at Bishan, Changi Airport and Tanglin reported symptoms of gastroenteritis after consuming food prepared by Nosh Cuisine between May 17 and 29.
Those hospitalised are in stable condition, said the Ministry of Health (MOH), the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) and the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said in a joint press release.
The rest sought outpatient treatment, self-medicated or recovered without treatment.
“In view of the suspected ongoing transmission, SFA has suspended the food business operations of Nosh Cuisine … with effect from May 30 until further notice,” MOH, ECDA and SFA said.
The operator is required to clean and sanitise its premises, including equipment and utensils, and dispose all ready-to-eat food and perishable food items.
All food handlers working at the premises must re-attend and pass the Food Safety Course Level 1 and test negative for foodborne pathogens before they can resume work.
The appointed food hygiene officer working at the premises must also re-attend and pass the Food Safety Course Level 3 before resuming work.
SFA reminded food operators to observe good food and personal hygiene practices at all time.
“Food safety is a joint responsibility,” it said. “SFA will not hesitate to take firm action against anyone found to be in violation of the Environmental Public Health Act.”
It also urged members of the public who come across poor hygiene practices in food establishments not to patronise them, and to report such outlets to SFA.
Despite world-beating growth, India’s lack of jobs threatens its young
MUMBAI: On a hot summer afternoon, 23-year-old Nizamudin Abdul Rahim Khan is playing cricket on a muddy, unpaved road in the Rafiq Nagar slum in India’s financial capital, Mumbai. Here, there is scant evidence of India’s fast-growing economy. Bordering what was once Asia’s largest garbage dumping ground, Rafiq Nagar andContinue Reading
Elon Muskâs Neuralink brain chip cleared for human trials
Since its founding in 2016, Elon Musk’s neurotechnology company Neuralink has had the ambitious mission to build a next-generation brain implant with at least 100 times more brain connections than devices currently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The company has now reached a significant milestone, having received FDA approval to begin human trials. So what were the issues keeping the technology in the pre-clinical trial phase for as long as it was? And have these concerns been addressed?
What is Neuralink?
Neuralink is making a Class III medical device known as a brain-computer interface (BCI). The device connects the brain to an external computer via a Bluetooth signal, enabling continuous communication back and forth.
The device itself is a coin-sized unit called a Link. It’s implanted within a small disk-shaped cutout in the skull using a precision surgical robot. The robot splices a thousand tiny threads from the Link to certain neurons in the brain. Each thread is about a quarter the diameter of a human hair.
Potential benefits
If Neuralink’s BCI can be made to work safely on humans, I believe the potential benefits would make the effort worthwhile.
The company says the device could enable precise control of prosthetic limbs, giving amputees natural motor skills. It could revolutionise treatment for conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy and spinal cord injuries. It also shows some promise for potential treatment of obesity, autism, depression, schizophrenia and tinnitus.
Several other neurotechnology companies and researchers have already developed BCI technologies that have helped people with limited mobility regain movement and complete daily tasks.
BCIs have also been used to help older people train their motor and cognitive abilities to moderate the worst effects of ageing.
The long road to FDA approval for human trials
In February 2021, Musk said Neuralink was working with the FDA to secure permission to start initial human trials later that year. But human trials didn’t commence in 2021.
Then, in March 2022, Neuralink made a further application to the FDA to establish its readiness to begin humans trials.
One year and three months later, on May 25 2023, Neuralink finally received FDA approval for its first human clinical trial. Given how hard Neuralink has pushed for permission to begin, we can assume it will begin very soon.
The approval has come less than six months after the US Office of the Inspector General launched an investigation into Neuralink over potential animal welfare violations.
What were the FDA’s concerns?
The FDA had quite a list of issues that needed to be resolved before human trials could commence, as was reported in a Reuters investigation, which claimed to have spoken to several Neuralink sources.
Most of these concerns called for Neuralink to perform thorough and repeated testing and data collection over an extended period. This was likely a deciding factor in why the approval process to begin human testing took as long as it did.
It can’t be said with certainty that all of the issues have been fully resolved. But considering the rigour of the FDA’s approval process, we might conclude they have at least been resolved to a point of satisfaction for the FDA.
Safe surgery
A precision robot known as Implant/r1 performs the surgical procedure to implant the Neuralink BCI. This robot surgeon had to be put through its paces to gather evidence that it could reliably and safely implant and remove the Neuralink BCI without damaging surrounding brain tissue, or creating the risk of infection, bleeding, inflammation or scarring.
Harmful side effects
Once implanted, the Neuralink BCI must function as intended. It must not unintentionally influence other brain functions, or cause any unwanted side effects such as seizures, headaches, mood changes, or cognitive impairment.
Safe power supply
In particular, overheating lithium-ion batteries can pose great risk to BCI users. When defective, such batteries have historically been known to overheat. They can even explode if the insulation between the cathode and anode (the metal electrode components) breaks down, resulting in a short circuit.
The longevity of the battery was also taken into account, as well as how easy it would be to safely replace from its position under the skin behind the ear. Since the FDA’s previous rejection, extensive tests have been conducted on the specially designed Neuralink battery to evaluate its performance, durability and bio-compatibility.
Wire migration
Then there is the risk of wire migration. The Link consists of a disk-shaped chip with very thin wire electrodes that connect to neurons in the brain.
Connecting these wires by means of a surgical robot is a major challenge in itself. But there is also the possibility the electrodes could move elsewhere in the brain over time due to natural movement, inflammation, or scar tissue formation. This would likely affect the proper functioning of the device, and could cause infection or damage to the brain tissue.
Neuralink had to conduct extensive animal studies and provide evidence its wires did not migrate significantly over time, or cause any adverse effects on the brain. The company also had to show it had a method for tracking and adjusting the position of the wires if this became necessary.
Implant removal
Another challenge Neuralink faced was that of safe implant removal. The FDA wanted to know how easy or difficult it would be to remove the device from the brain if this became necessary.
Data privacy and security
Strong safeguards are required to prevent data collected by the Link from being hacked, manipulated or otherwise misused. Neuralink would have had to assure the FDA it could avoid nightmare scenarios of hackers rendering its Link users vulnerable to interference, as well as guaranteeing the privacy of brain-wave data generated by the device.
The way ahead
Critics acknowledge the potential benefits of Neuralink, but caution the company to hasten slowly. Adequately addressing these issues will take time – and corners must not be cut when arriving at a solution.
Beyond the Link’s potential medical uses, Musk has made many radical claims regarding his future vision for the technology.
He has claimed Neuralink could augment human intelligence by creating an on-demand connection with artificial intelligence systems – allowing, for example, improved cognition through enhanced memory, and improved learning and problem-solving skills.
He has even gone as far as to say the Link could allow high-bandwidth telepathic communication between two or more people connected via a mediating computer. Common sense would suggest these claims be put in the “I’ll believe it when I see it” category.
The situation with Neuralink has clear parallels with current advancements in AI (and the growing need to regulate it). As exciting as these technologies are, they must not be released to the public until proven to be safe. This can only be achieved by exhaustive testing.
David Tuffley is Senior Lecturer in Applied Ethics & CyberSecurity, Griffith University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
HTX launches innovation centre for global tech start-ups to work with Home Team agencies
OPEN INNOVATION CHALLENGE
One of Hatch’s key programmes – the biannual Open Innovation Challenge – is an accelerator programme that will give start-ups a rare chance to immediately begin working with HTX’s scientists and engineers, as well as Home Team departments, to trial and prove their concepts in real-world scenarios.
For example, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) had called for technology to monitor personnel in indoor environments in real time.
Since the Open Innovation Challenge was launched in March, five start-ups have been selected for the programme. This was out of the 60 start-ups from Singapore, the US, UK, Israel and various industries that applied.
Each start-up will receive US$50,000 in funding and can get additional funding on a case-by-case basis.
Two of the selected start-ups, both based in Israel, demonstrated how their technology works at Tuesday’s launch event.
One of them – Vayyar, which produces 4D imaging radar sensors – is working with ICA on a radar-based scanning technology to see through and into materials.
“(This means) that you walk and you’re being scanned as you go with your luggage. There’s no need to stop, and you have a much better experience as a passenger for example,” Mr Assaf Kartowsky, Vayyar’s project manager of homeland security and public safety, told reporters.
NATO should tread carefully in the Indo-Pacific
NATO’s incursion into the Indo-Pacific region is a move that will exacerbate regional conflicts and tensions. That’s because NATO cannot be separated from the history of European colonialism and imperialism that shaped modern Asia — and plays a major role in Chinese nationalism today.
In 2022, NATO declared that China was a “challenge” to the alliance’s “interests, security and values.” Recently, NATO has argued that possible Chinese assistance to Russia in its war against Ukraine makes China a military threat to Europe.
NATO is opening a liaison office in Japan and is partners with Japan, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. This may be a first step to deeper European involvement in Asia’s security architecture.
Japan argues that the war in Ukraine has destabilized the world, and has invited NATO into the Indo-Pacific to deter China. However, NATO is widely distrusted in the non-Western world.
NATO: An American puppet?
Since the end of the Cold War, NATO has acted as an extension of American power. NATO’s bombing of Kosovo and Serbia in 1999 violated the United Nations Charter.
NATO’s intervention in Afghanistan was authorized by the UN, but it assisted the illegal and devastating US invasion of Iraq by freeing American military resources.
The UN Security Council also gave the green light to NATO’s intervention in Libya, but NATO states violated the terms of that resolution to pursue their own political and economic objectives in the North African country. The result was the destruction of Libya and the spread of instability across North Africa. There are no states in Africa that would call NATO “a defensive alliance.”
Very few countries support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, the non-Western world — including most of Southeast Asia — generally accepts Russia’s claim that it invaded Ukraine to protect itself against the expansion of NATO. To much of the world, the reality of Western militarism makes Russia’s arguments entirely plausible.
China fuels regional prosperity
Most Southeast Asian states have set aside their historical grievances with the West. They are committed to an international system that — somewhat accidentally — has served them well.
Regional states are concerned about the rise of China and its acts of intimidation. Yet China is the No 1 trading partner of most Asian states. Regional prosperity depends on China’s success.
Asians are cautious about western provocations over issues like Taiwan. Asians want the US present to balance China’s power, but that doesn’t mean they want a European military alliance operating in their region.
In particular, states that are part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) want to manage regional security without outside interference.
Southeast Asians’ perception of a predatory international system is based on their experiences with European colonialism. Their focus on protecting state sovereignty is directly linked to this history. Their stated preference is to build economic and diplomatic connections to manage regional conflict.
China has also prospered under the existing system and has a stake in its continuation. But it’s considered a threat because it will not be subservient to western power, especially American.
Consequently, it’s been encircled by more than 300 American military bases and subjected to intense US economic and technological sanctions.
Century of humiliation
Chinese nationalism has been stoked by what’s known as the “century of humiliation” from 1839 to 1949, when European powers, the US and Japan took part in seizing Chinese territory, imposing unequal treaties and brutalizing the Chinese people.
NATO is a European military alliance that is establishing a strong working relationship with Japan. This plays directly into China’s concerns that the same powers that humiliated it in the past are lining up for a second attempt.
Asian states that find the Russian explanation for the war in Ukraine plausible will clearly be concerned that NATO’s move into the region is duplicating the same hostile dynamic of backing an adversary into a corner.
For the past several centuries, world politics have been defined by Western colonialism and violence. That era never really ended.
After the Second World War, Europe passed the torch of global Western imperialism to the US Since the end of the Cold War, the US — often assisted by NATO states — has frequently engaged in illegal violence around the world, most notably with its invasion of Iraq.
Therefore, it’s not surprising NATO claims that it’s merely a “defensive alliance” are viewed skeptically in the non-Western world. What is surprising is that Western powers seemingly cannot understand why their insistence that they represent a “rules-based international order” fails to resonate with much of the globe.
NATO’s growing presence in the Pacific evokes a painful history that the western world has never confronted or fully acknowledged. NATO ignores how its recent actions affect how it’s perceived in the larger world and how those actions lend credence to states that see NATO as a threat.
Its presence in the Indo-Pacific can easily be construed as a new attempt to reassert Western military domination of the region.
Shaun Narine is Professor of International Relations and Political Science, St. Thomas University (Canada)
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
CNA Explains: Why chips are an increasingly prominent issue in US-China tensions
US President Joe Biden on May 21 defended his country’s actions, a day after the G7 economies warned China over its “militarisation activities”.
He said: “It is building its military, and that’s why I’ve made it clear that I am not prepared to trade certain items with China.
“We’ve now got commitment from all of our allies that they’re not going to do that either, provide that kind of material.”
The issue of chips, then, has become more prominent now due to their dual use for civilian and military purposes, Assoc Prof Araral told CNA.
“The US wants to slow down the buildup of China’s military capacity by slowing down its access to powerful dual-use chips.”
Mitigating security risks is also high among China’s priorities.
In 2021, China announced rules to protect its critical information infrastructure with stricter data security requirements.
It also amended its anti-espionage law in April by widening the definition of spying and banning the transfer of any data related to what its authorities define as national security.
On the chips front, China, which is the world’s largest buyer of semiconductors, has gradually reduced its reliance on foreign-made chips in its efforts to boost self-sufficiency.
But the US export controls are making China’s task of catching up even harder, including the need to rapidly fill a shortage of expertise.
According to a white paper jointly published by a Chinese government think tank and a trade group, the country is short of an estimated 200,000 industry workers this year.
Assoc Prof Araral noted it would take time for China to develop its own indigenous chips technology, with estimates suggesting that China is “at least seven years behind” the US in chips capabilities.
WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE THIS, AND IS IT REALLY JUST ABOUT CHIPS?
US-China relations have become increasingly strained in recent years, with a string of high-profile incidents putting the tensions under the spotlight.
In March, TikTok’s Singaporean CEO Chew Shou Zi was grilled in a committee hearing in March, after lawmakers became concerned that Beijing can access American user data through the popular Chinese-owned social media app.
Before that, a suspected Chinese spy balloon flew over US airspace and was shot down by the US military, prompting a strong response from Beijing. China described Washington’s actions as “clearly overreacting and seriously violating international practice”.
Both countries also in recent months charged individuals on grounds of national security.
For example, China sentenced a 78-year-old US citizen to life in prison for espionage, according to a court statement on May 15.
US corporate due diligence firm Mintz was raided by Chinese authorities in March at their Beijing office, where five local staff members were detained. China said the firm was suspected of engaging in unlawful business operations.
“If you put that together with some of the punitive actions that the government here in Beijing has taken against several American companies recently, we’re very concerned about this,” said US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns in May.
Chinese police later also visited US management consultancy Bain & Company’s office in Shanghai and questioned staff there.
In another incident, US federal agents in April arrested two New York City residents for allegedly operating a Chinese “secret police station”. They face charges of conspiring to act as agents of China’s government without informing US authorities, and obstruction of justice.
“This chips rivalry is part and parcel of a bigger game being played by the US and China – essentially a tit-for-tat game. The ban on Micron is China’s response to the US Chips Act which restricts China’s access to US-designed chips and equipment,” said Assoc Prof Araral.
WHERE DOES TAIWAN FIT INTO THE PICTURE?
According to a 2021 Boston Consulting Group report, Taiwan is home to 90 per cent of the manufacturing capacity for the world’s most advanced semiconductors.
The island’s Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is the world’s largest contract chip maker and a major supplier to US manufacturers.
With its industry-leading expertise, matching its scale and skills would take a long time and cost a fortune.
It was reported last year that TSMC was set to more than triple its planned investment in its Arizona plant to US$40 billion, making it one of the largest foreign investments in US history.
Given Taiwan’s significance in the chip industry, the island’s relationship with the US ups the stakes further.
Over the past three years, China has increased its military presence around Taiwan in a bid to assert its sovereignty claim on the self-governed island. Taiwan rejects the claim and vows to protect its freedom and democracy.
While the threat from China continues to loom over Taiwan, it has sought closer ties with the US.
In April, US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy met Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen in California despite China’s protest. In response, China launched three days of military drills around Taiwan.
“If this is a game of chess, Taiwan would be the Queen because it is a major player in the chips game,” said Assoc Prof Araral, adding that it was the reason why the US got Taiwan to move its most advanced chip facilities to Arizona and Japan.
Should there be a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, it could potentially halt production by TSMC and wipe out almost US$1 trillion each year from the global economy during the first few years, US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said recently.
“It will also have an impact on our (US) GDP if there was such an invasion of Taiwan and that (TSMC’s production) was blocked,” she said.
But she also cautioned: “It would also have an impact, if they stopped making chips, on China’s economy.”
WHAT LIES AHEAD?
China is trying to play catch-up in the US$580 billion semiconductor industry by boosting its advanced semiconductor capacity.
But according to a report in The Guardian, China’s growth has been concentrated in manufacturers who produce chips that are bigger and less advanced.
And that’s not the only problem it faces in transforming the industry at home.
The industry has also been plagued by entrepreneurs creating fraudulent operations to get government subsidies. To fix this, the Chinese government has revoked the licences of about 6,000 chip companies – an increase of almost 70 per cent since 2021.
Coupled with ongoing chip bans and the fact that factories cost billions of dollars to build and equip, it will be difficult for companies to recoup their investments.
The US export controls appear to be hitting China hard.
Chips imports declined by 23 per cent in the first three months of 2023 compared with the same period last year, according to data published by the General Administration of Customs.
However, China won’t be the only one bearing the brunt if the situation worsens.
On May 27, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo vowed that the country “won’t tolerate” China’s effective ban on purchases of Micron memory chips, adding that it is working closely with allies to address such “economic coercion”.
But American think tank Atlantic Council said that in the event US’ semiconductor sales to China drop to zero, US companies would face a loss of US$83 billion per year. Also at stake are 124,000 jobs, as estimated by the American Chamber of Commerce.
In addition to US consumers experiencing inflation and possible supply chain disruptions, “global implications will be dire as well,” said the think tank.
“The chips war is key to the outcomes of US-China rivalry and therefore it matters to the rest of the world. What we will have would be two technological standards – one US-led and the other China-led, which is not necessarily bad,” noted Assoc Prof Araral.
Malaysian girl hospitalised after eating cannabis-laced biscuits, dad arrested
IPOH, Perak: An 11-year-old girl in Malaysia was admitted to the hospital after showing serious side effects from eating chocolate biscuits made by her father that were suspected to be laced with cannabis. “Investigations found that the victim had eaten biscuits suspected to be mixed with cannabis which caused herContinue Reading
HDB launches 5,500 BTO flats for sale, most will be ready in under 4 years
SINGAPORE: A total of 5,495 Build-to-Order (BTO) flats were launched for sale on Tuesday (May 30), spread across five projects in the housing estates of Bedok, Kallang Whampoa, Serangoon and Tengah.
Nearly 90 per cent of the BTO flats, in four of the five projects on offer, have a waiting time of less than four years, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) said in a press release.
This makes the May BTO sales exercise one of the BTO launches with the highest proportion of flats in recent years to be completed in less than four years, it said.
The median waiting time for the flats launched in May is about three years and five months, added HDB.
Those who are looking to move into their flats sooner can consider applying for the flats at Parc Meadow @ Tengah, which has a waiting time ranging from three years and one month to three years and four months.
The waiting times for the other four projects – Plantation Verge in Tengah, Bedok South Blossoms, Serangoon North Vista and Farrer Park Arena – range from three years and five months to four years.
HDB on Tuesday said another 1,500 Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) units were also being offered for sale.
STRONG DEMAND IN BEDOK AND SERANGOON
A wide selection of flats, ranging from two-room flexi units to 3Gen flats, is offered to meet diverse housing needs, HDB said of the current sales exercise.
In particular, five-room flats will be offered in the mature towns of Bedok and Serangoon, making up more than 40 per cent of the total five-room flat supply in the May BTO launch.
“As it has been several years since the last BTO launch in the towns of Bedok and Serangoon, strong demand for the BTO flats at Bedok South Blossoms and Serangoon North Vista can be expected,” HDB said.
According to Huttons Asia’s senior director for research Lee Sze Teck, the last BTO launch in Bedok South was in November 2006. With the last BTO launch in Bedok estate coming in 2016, demand is likely to be high.
“The near seven-year absence of a BTO project (in Bedok) may see higher number of applicants for Bedok South Blossoms,” Mr Lee said.
“This BTO is very near to Tanah Merah MRT where a mixed-use project Sceneca Residence is being built. Buyers of this BTO can stroll over to Sceneca Square for their amenities or take a train down to Bedok Mall, which is one stop away.”
Serangoon will likely draw similar interest, Mr Lee said.
“Back in Jan 2014, a studio apartment BTO (in Serangoon) was launched. But it is not a like-for-like comparison, hence the demand for new HDB flats at Serangoon North Vista could be large. Furthermore, this BTO project has five-room flats, which is seldom offered in mature estates … (and) Serangoon North Vista is near to Serangoon Gardens and Chomp Chomp Food Centre,” he added.
The new flats will be priced considerably lower than the transacted prices of comparable resale flats due to significant market discounts, HDB added.
Eligible first-timer families can benefit from the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG) of up to S$80,000 (US$59,165).
With the EHG, flat buyers may pay as little as S$163,000 for a three-room flat and S$290,000 for a four-room flat in the non-mature estate of Tengah, and may service their mortgage through CPF, with little to no cash outlay, HDB said.
In the mature estates where prices are higher, the prices after grants start from S$260,000 and S$403,000 for a three-room and four-room flat respectively, in Bedok.
Chinese organisations launched 79 AI large-language models since 2020: Report
BEIJING: Chinese organisations launched 79 large-language models (LLMs) in the country over the past three years as they doubled down on efforts to develop artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, a report by state-run research institutes said. The development of LLMs, trained using deep learning techniques on massive amounts of text data,Continue Reading
EU-Singapore in a deepening digital embrace
SINGAPORE – Singapore hopes to begin negotiations on a digital free trade agreement with the European Union, one of its major trading partners, as soon as this year, building on a non-binding digital partnership agreed between the two sides in February, according to Singapore’s Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations S Iswaran.
Addressing a business outreach event on Monday (May 29), Iswaran said Singapore and the EU are in the process of identifying projects to pursue through the partnership, which aims to strengthen the interoperability of digital markets and policy frameworks between the two sides, with the ultimate goal of enabling consumers and businesses to transact online at a lower cost.
The principles established in the EU-Singapore Digital Partnership (EUSDP) represent “the first step towards a bilateral digital trade agreement between the EU and Singapore [that] will give our citizens and businesses the clarity and legal certainty they need to transact confidently in the digital economy,” said Iswaran, who is also Singapore’s transport minister.
“We look forward to launching negotiations on a digital trade agreement with the EU soon hopefully, during Sweden’s Presidency of the EU Council,” Iswaran added, potentially placing digital trade talks in the first half of 2023 when Stockholm serves as rotating council chair, building on an existing Singapore-EU bilateral free trade agreement that entered into force in November 2019.
Known as the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA), the deal was the first of its kind between the EU and a member state of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and is regarded as a template for a wider future trade pact with regional economies. Trade experts, however, note that an EU-ASEAN agreement is highly ambitious and remains a long way off.
A future EU-Singapore digital trade agreement would similarly be seen as a stepping stone for closer region-to-region connectivity. The EU’s digital partnership with Singapore is the third such agreement signed with a key trading partner in Asia after partnerships with Japan and South Korea were concluded last May and November, respectively.
The EUSDP aims to facilitate research and regulatory cooperation in areas ranging from 5G and 6G service adoption, artificial intelligence (AI) governance and semiconductor supply chain resilience. It also seeks common rules on cross-border data flows, electronic invoicing and payments to provide small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with more open access to overseas markets.
“The Singapore-EU partnership is not a binding agreement yet. It should be viewed as the first steps of potentially creating one,” Deborah Elms, founder and executive director of the Asian Trade Centre, a Singapore-based trade research and advisory firm, told Asia Times. “While Singapore clearly has no particular issues signing binding commitments on digital and has done so repeatedly already, the same is not true for the EU.”
Elms, who is also president of the Asia Business Trade Association, added that the EU has the challenge of managing “27 member states with varying levels of readiness and enthusiasm for digital trade. This always makes it hard for the EU to act, particularly on new issues like digital. Getting the EU to a comfortable place for signing up to commitments can be time-consuming.”
Data privacy differences may prove difficult to bridge said Elms, pointing out that Singapore has not made a binding commitment to align with Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), considered the toughest privacy and security law in the world, while instead implementing a different standard known as Cross-Border Privacy Rules (CPBR).
“The two systems are not incompatible but they aren’t exactly aligned either. Figuring out how to bridge the gaps could take time. If you stick to a framework, it may not be a problem to have two systems, but if you want to create legally binding commitments, fudging the differences can be harder. Time is also not standing still while the EU and Singapore sort out the partnership,” Elms said.
The EUSDP, which essentially serves as a set of digital trade principles, builds on Singapore’s extensive network of free trade agreements and digital cooperation initiatives, reinforcing its role as a global business hub. Key priorities for implementation in 2023 include common approaches in electronic identification and AI governance and facilitating the digital transformation of SMEs.
Singapore is a major destination for European investments in Asia, with bilateral foreign direct investment stock between the EU and Singapore expanding to an estimated 434 billion euros (US$464 billion) in 2022. Singapore is also the EU’s second-largest commercial partner in ASEAN, with more than 10,000 European companies headquartered in the city-state to serve the wider region.
“Integration with the rest of Southeast Asia is key for our companies who are looking to grow and expand. We need to have everyone working seamlessly together – not just the EU and Singapore, but the rest of the region,” said Jenny Egermark, chargé d’affaires at the Embassy of Sweden in Singapore. “That is the dream and long-term goal that we are working towards.”