Philippines–Singapore relations are bilateral relations between the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. The

has an

embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...

likewise, has an

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

. Full diplomatic relations commenced on May 16, 1969, when the Philippine consulate-general in Singapore was raised to embassy level. Both countries are members of

APEC The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

, and founding members of

ASEAN ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...

Relations

The Philippine-Singapore Business Council is also present as an organization dedicated to the cooperation of the business communities of the two countries. The council was launched on 13 October 1994 in Singapore. Both

Fidel V. Ramos Fidel Valdez Ramos (, ; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR and Eddie Ramos, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military ...

, the President of the Philippines, and

Goh Chok Tong Goh Chok Tong (; born 20 May 1941) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1990 and 2004, and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party between 1992 and 2004. He was the Member of Parliament (M ...

, the Prime Minister of Singapore attended the launch. Aside from economic relationships, the two countries also agree in improving tourism and security relationships. In August 1986,

Philippine President The president of the Philippines ( fil, Pangulo ng Pilipinas, sometimes referred to as ''Presidente ng Pilipinas'') is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of t ...

Corazon Aquino preferred to travel to Jakarta and

, breaking the tradition that the first overseas visit of the President should always be

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. Singapore Prime Minister

Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew (16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), born Harry Lee Kuan Yew, often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean lawyer and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1990, and Secretary-General o ...

, together with

Indonesian President The President of the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Presiden Republik Indonesia) is both the head of state and the head of government of the Republic of Indonesia. The president leads the executive branch of the Indonesian government and is ...

Suharto, suggested to Aquino to avoid reconciliation with the communist insurgents in her country and extend the rights of the bases of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in the

. During a state visit by Philippine President

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the House Deputy Speakers since 2022, and previously from 2016 to 2017. She previously ...

in 2007, she discussed the liberalization of air travel between the two countries to improve tourism. She also discussed with Singapore Prime Minister

Lee Hsien Loong Lee Hsien Loong (; born 10 February 1952) is a Singaporean politician and former brigadier-general who has been serving as Prime Minister of Singapore and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party since 2004. He has been the Member of Par ...

regarding a status of forces agreement (SOFA) to combat terrorism and transnational crimes. In 1995, a planned state visit by the Singaporean Prime Minister was postponed "until a more propitious time" after the execution of

Flor Contemplacion Flor Ramos Contemplacion (January 7, 1953 – March 17, 1995) was a Filipina domestic worker executed in Singapore for murder. Her execution severely strained relations between Singapore and the Philippines, and caused many Filipinos to vent ...

. The case caused the most profound rift between the two

countries for more than 25 years. Economic relationships between the two countries were also strained.

Singaporean Singaporeans, or the Singaporean people, refers to citizens or people who identify with the sovereign island city-state of Singapore. Singapore is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-lingual country. Singaporeans of Chinese, Malay, Ind ...

investments in the

dropped from US$65 million from 1994 to US$3.7 million by 1995. Despite this controversy, full diplomatic relationships between the two countries were restored in January of the following year. In December 1998, the two countries signed a Philippine-Singapore Action to improve bilateral trade at the ASEAN summit in

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

In 2013,

is the 4th top trading partner of the

, with $8.22 billion (₱454.97B, S$10.94B) in bilateral trade. It was also the sixth top source of visitors, with more than 175,000 in arrivals.

is also host to a Filipino community of about 180,000.

Military

In January 2017, Secretary

Delfin Lorenzana Delfin Negrillo Lorenzana, OLH, KGOR (born October 28, 1948) is a retired Philippine Army general who served as Secretary of National Defense in the Cabinet of President Rodrigo Duterte from 2016 to 2022. He served in the Philippine Army fr ...

announced that he is seeking a revival of Filipino-Singaporean military exercises known as ''Anoa-Singa'', which started in 1994. It was stopped in 1996 due to a lack of a military agreement that would allow Singaporean forces to conduct exercises since the Filipino Constitution does not allow foreign troops to be deployed in the

Agreements

In 2007, the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding in order to promote cooperation in media policy and information exchange. In 2008, the

Philippine government The Government of the Philippines ( fil, Pamahalaan ng Pilipinas) has three interdependent branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The Philippines is governed as a unitary state under a presidential representative and d ...

voluntarily stopped the export of 50,000 tonnes of pork to

due to the cases of Ebola Reston in some farms in

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

. This export was supposed to be the

' first of pork.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Philippines-Singapore relations

Bilateral relations of Singapore