Foreign Relations of Singapore - Timeline of Singapore Foreign Relations

Timeline of Singapore Foreign Relations

• 7 August 1965 – Singapore and Malaysia sign the separation agreement.
• 9 August 1965 – The Malaysian Parliament votes to expel Singapore from the Federation; Singapore becomes independent after separating from Malaysia.
• 9 August 1965 – Ministry of Foreign Affairs was established and S. Rajaratnam becomes Singapore's first Minister for Foreign Affairs.
• 21 September 1965 – Singapore is admitted into the United Nations as the 117th member.
• 15 October 1965 – Singapore becomes the 22nd member of the Commonwealth.
• 8 August 1967 – Singapore becomes a founding member of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
• January 1968 – Britain announces its intention to withdraw its armed forces from Singapore.
• September 1970 – Singapore is admitted into the Non-Aligned Movement.
• 14–22 January 1971 – Singapore hosts the 18th Conference of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
• April 1971 – Singapore, United Kingdom, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand sign the Five Power Defence Arrangements.
• 31 October 1971 – The last British military forces withdraws from Singapore.
• 1973 – Singapore joins General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
• 1 June 1980 – S. Dhanabalan becomes the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
• March 1981 – Singapore's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Tommy Koh, assumed the Presidency of the Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea.
• September 1988 – Wong Kan Seng becomes the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
• 3 October 1990 – Singapore and People's Republic of China establish diplomatic relations.
• January 1993 – Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Secretariat set up in Singapore.
• 2 January 1994 – S. Jayakumar becomes the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
• 5 May 1994 – United States media sensationalise the caning incident of American teenager Michael P. Fay who was convicted for vandalism.
• 1 January 1995 – Inauguration of World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ambassador K Kesavapany is elected for a one-year term as Chairman of the General Council.
• 9–13 December 1996 – Singapore hosts the 1st WTO Ministerial Conference.
• 15 January 1998 – Singapore and United States announces agreement for US ships to use a planned $35 million naval base from 2000.
• 10 October 2000 – Singapore is elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) at the 55th session of the UN General Assembly.
• 14 November 2000 – Singapore and New Zealand sign Agreement on Closer Economic Partnership, Singapore's first bilateral Free Trade Agreement.
• 1 January 2001 – Singapore starts its two-year term in the United Nations Security Council.
• January 2001 – A pipeline feeding gas to Singapore from Indonesia's Natuna field in South China Sea opens.
• 13 January 2002 – Singapore and Japan sign the Japan-Singapore Economic Agreement.
• April 2003 – SARS virus outbreak in Singapore and other parts of Asia.
• 6 May 2003 – Singapore and United States sign the United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (USS-FTA).
• 12 January 2004 – The new Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi makes his introductory visit to Singapore.
• 13 August 2004 – Yeo Yong-Boon George becomes the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
• 26 April 2005 – Singapore and Malaysia sign a settlement agreement concerning land reclamation in and around the Straits of Johor.
• 15–17 August 2005 – Singapore hosted a multi-national maritime interdiction exercise, codename Exercise Deep Sabre, participated by 13 countries.
• 23 August 2005 – Singapore and Australia sign a memorandum of agreement to allow Singapore Armed Forces to train on the Shoalwater Bay Training Area till 2009.
• 14 December 2005 – Singapore attends the inaugural East Asia Summit (EAS).