Singapore tells embassies to avoid inciting domestic reactions to international issues

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SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Singapore warned foreign embassies against inciting domestic reactions to international issues after the U.S and Chinese embassies in the city-state took swipes at each other on Facebook over the South China Sea dispute. 

“Complex issues are best resolved through appropriate channels for effective diplomacy,” Singapore’s foreign affairs ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

The U.S. embassy in Singapore posted a video on Tuesday comparing China’s stance on the South China Sea dispute to bad behaviour sometimes seen in Singapore’s public housing estates, such as stacking up belongings in common spaces and in front of other residents’ apartments.

China’s embassy responded a day later on Facebook, accusing the U.S. of “putting its own priorities over international rules” by withdrawing from international conventions and organisations, “bullying and coercing other countries” on issues like tariffs, and wanting control of the Panama Canal and Greenland.

In response to media queries, a U.S. embassy spokesperson justified the social media post and said that the embassy presents U.S. government policy and views on issues that affect itself and the entire region. 

“Drawing an analogy to the local Singapore context, the video explains the U.S. understanding of the dispute by referencing a phenomenon to which anyone around the world can relate,” the spokesperson said. 

The Chinese embassy did not immediately respond to queries. 

(Reporting by Jun Yuan Yong; Additional reporting by Xinghui Kok; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)