The prime minister of Singapore has justified making a deal with Taylor Swift to make sure she didn't play in any other Southeast Asian nation in response to neighboring countries' objections.
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While Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong refuted claims that the agreement was "unfriendly" to other nations in the area, he did disclose for the first time on Tuesday that the city-state had struck an exclusive pact with the worldwide pop phenomenon.
During a press conference at the ASEAN-Australia summit in Melbourne, Australia, Lee said, "Our agencies negotiated an arrangement with her to come to Singapore and perform, and to make Singapore her only stop in Southeast Asia."
He added, "a deal was reached. And so it has turned out to be a very successful arrangement. I don't see that as being unfriendly."
Lee also hinted that other countries should not be grouching, because at the end of the day, it was Taylor Swift who can only be the one to make the call. He said it was not clear that the pop singer would have performed in other countries in the region if such an arrangement had not been made.
"Maybe, maybe not. These are things that she will decide," he said.
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Lee's comments followed regional accusations that the city-state had enticed Swift with a grant of $2-3 million. Last month, Srettha Thavisin, the prime minister of Thailand, expressed regret, saying that if he had been aware of Singapore's arrangement, he would have attempted to reach a comparable agreement.
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Legislator for the Philippines Joey Salceda said on Wednesday that Singapore should be questioned by Manila on the funding, calling the city-state's actions "not what good neighbors do."
On Monday, Singapore's Culture Minister Edwin Tong addressed the parliament, refuting rumors about the grant's amount but omitting to specify its conditions, such as whether Swift was required to refrain from performing elsewhere.
In February, Srettha Thavisin, the prime minister of Thailand, made public claims about a promoter informing him that the Singaporean government had financed the performance, but that the singer was not allowed to perform anyplace else in Southeast Asia.
This called attention to the arrangement. Srettha expressed confidence in his ability to execute a comparable scheme if he had been aware of it earlier. However, according to Prommin Lertsuridej, the Prime Minister's Secretary-General, Thailand has nothing against Singapore.
In a group discussion with reporters on Monday, he said that Thailand has looked to Singapore as an example. Although the country already has rules allowing incentive packages of this kind, the government is now trying to cut red tape and improve Thailand's appeal as a location for international events.
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