Oral Answer · 2026-09-09 · Parliament 15
Singapore's Strategic Position on Pax Silica AI Coalition and World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization
Nominated MP Dr Neo Kok Beng asked the Minister for Digital Development and Information about Singapore's strategic options and positioning with respect to the Pax Silica AI coalition and the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation (WAICO). Minister Josephine Teo, also answering a related question filed by Mr Louis Chua, said Singapore has received an invitation to participate in WAICO; there is no ASEAN position on either WAICO or Pax Silica, so Singapore will consider the invitation alongside its broader engagements with China and other international AI cooperation initiatives. Whether Singapore joins any initiative depends on its objectives, areas of common interest, how it complements existing engagements and Singapore's overall interests, so one-to-one comparisons are less meaningful. In a supplementary, Dr Neo urged more effort on ISO standards; Mrs Teo said the AI governance landscape is still evolving and it is hard to say which standards bodies will prevail, but Singapore works seriously with ISO and will keep seeking to expand the space for interoperable standards.
Why it matters
Singapore has been invited to participate in the World AI Cooperation Organization, and ASEAN has no position on either WAICO or Pax Silica.
Key Points
- • Singapore has received an invitation to participate in the World AI Cooperation Organization (WAICO) and will consider it alongside its broader engagements with China and other international AI cooperation initiatives.
- • There is no ASEAN position on either WAICO or Pax Silica.
- • A few years ago Singapore initiated a digital pillar for the Forum of Small States, a grouping of 108 UN member states founded in 1992; this year Mrs Teo became a founding member of the ITU's AI for Good Global Commission, which has members from the US and China.
- • Bilaterally, Singapore has a Cyber Dialogue with the US and a Digital Policy Dialogue with China.
- • Participation in any initiative depends on its objectives, substantive areas of common interest, how it complements existing engagements and Singapore's overall interests, making one-to-one comparisons less meaningful.
- • Singapore works with ISO, and work behind its ethical principles and testing and certification frameworks contributed to ISO's thinking on AI governance; the Government will keep seeking to expand the space for interoperable standards.
The Government has not decided on joining WAICO or Pax Silica; it will consider the WAICO invitation alongside its broader engagements with China and other international AI cooperation initiatives, with participation depending on each initiative's objectives, common interests and Singapore's overall interests. On standards, it declined to back a single standards body, preferring to work with ISO and other organisations with a focus on interoperability.
Questioner Dr Neo Kok Beng (Nominated MP) asked how Singapore positions itself between Pax Silica and WAICO, and argued for putting more effort into the ISO series as the international standards Singapore pushes, rather than catering to different treaty organisations.
Singapore is avoiding a binary choice between AI cooperation frameworks led by different major powers, folding the WAICO invitation into its overall relationship with China and anchoring cross-camp participation on standards interoperability, in line with its small-state multilateral hedging approach.
"It is therefore less meaningful to make one-to-one comparisons between individual initiatives."
Participants (2)
Original Text (English)
SPRS Hansard · Fetched: 2026-09-26
13 Dr Neo Kok Beng asked the Minister for Digital Development and Information what is Singapore's strategic option and positioning with respect to the Pax Silica AI coalition and the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation.
The Minister for Digital Development and Information (Mrs Josephine Teo) : Mr Speaker, my reply will address the questions raised by Dr Neo Kok Beng in today's Order Paper, as well as the question filed by Mr Louis Chua filed for tomorrow's Sitting relating to the same subject. If the Member is satisfied with the reply, he may wish to withdraw his question after this session. [ Please refer to " Singapore's Position on Joining WAICO, Implications of Pax Silica Signatory Status and ASEAN Consensus on AI Governance Initiatives ", Official Report, 10 September 2026, Vol 96, Issue 37, Written Answers to Questions section. ]
To Mr Chua's specific questions, Singapore has received an invitation to participate in the World AI Cooperation Organization (WAICO). There is no Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) position on either WAICO or Pax Silica. Singapore will therefore consider the invitation alongside our broader engagements with China and other international AI coorperation initiatives.
More broadly, to Dr Neo's question on Singapore's strategic positioning, we engage different countries through a range of multilateral, plurilateral and bilateral platforms. The engagements arise at different times, serve different purposes, and evolve as our interests and circumstances change.
For example, a few years ago, Singapore initiated a digital pillar for the Forum of Small States, a grouping of 108 United Nations (UN) member states first founded in 1992, which also looks at capacity-building through sharing experiences among its members. Earlier this year, I became a founding member of the AI for Good Global Commission initiated by the International Telecommunications Union. It has members from the United States (US) and China.
Bilaterally, we have a Cyber Dialogue with the US. With China, we have a Digital Policy Dialogue.
These various mechanisms are not identical. Whether we participate in any particular initiative depends on its objectives, the substantive areas of common interest, how it complements our existing engagements and Singapore’s overall interests.
It is therefore less meaningful to make one-to-one comparisons between individual initiatives. What matters most is the overall relationships we have with each of our partners and how we can continue to work with them in ways that advance Singapore’s interests and contribute constructively to international cooperation in AI.
Mr Speaker : Dr Neo.
Dr Neo Kok Beng (Nominated Member) : Thank you, Speaker and the Minister for the reply. I have one supplementary question. Since AI is of a national concern and significance, and I understand we have an AI National Committee which brings in the various stakeholders from the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and Singapore Standards Council, especially working on the ISO 42000 series, so can we position more efforts into the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) series, so that it becomes the international standards that we push, rather than trying to cater to different treaty organisations?
Mrs Josephine Teo : Mr Speaker, I thank Dr Neo for his question. The landscape for AI governance is still evolving. At this stage, it is hard to say for certainty which standards bodies will become the most prominent and influential.
Singapore does seriously work with our colleagues in the ISO. In fact, some of the work that went behind our ethical principles that were articulated earlier as well as the development of our testing and certification frameworks did contribute to how the ISO is thinking about AI governance. And we continue to monitor the useful publications that ISO has put forward and assess their relevance to Singapore.
We will continue to engage in a meaningful manner with different organisations in order to continuously be in touch with the evolving landscape.
I want to assure the Member that we keep a close watch on the standards development. In particular, our interest is to ensure the interoperability of the standards. Most of the companies operating in Singapore will also have other international footprints and it becomes very difficult when, across the borders, the standards differ very greatly. So, whether it is through our work in ASEAN or other international organisations, we will continuously seek to expand the space for interoperable standards.