According to the PM, although Singapore does not claim any of the East Sea, the sea is one of the two vital arteries linking the country to the world.
It is important to Singapore that disputes in the sea do not affect freedom of navigation and overflight, PM Lee said.
Singapore must support and strive for a rule-based international order, he said.
“If rules do not matter, then small countries like Singapore have no chance of survival,” he added.