Professor Joseph Chinyong Liow's reference to the Trump administration's "decoupling" effort as a ship that "has long since sailed" should serve as a wake-up call to not only the United States but also every nation which harbours analogous anxieties about Chinese trade practices and have looked futilely to the US for leadership (US-China tech ties: Breaking up is hard to do, Nov 19).

According to Dr Mercy Kuo of Pamir Consulting, quantum physicists estimate that China is not only tied with the US in quantum technology, but has also surpassed it in quantum cryptology.

Speaking at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies Seminar on Monday, she further postulates that China could go black in two to three years, which means it will attain the capability to block its network from the world.

China is also not going about achieving technological supremacy alone; it has secured cooperation with Russia. For example, Chinese tech giant Huawei installed its research programme in Russia this year. So it would be remiss to discount Russia as a player in the tech race.

The US should realise by now that its containment strategy on China is going nowhere. China has developed a network of interdependence between itself and the world, and is plugged into nearly every country's economy. Few, if any country, would go along with the kind of isolationist measures that the US is attempting on China today.

Meanwhile, Asean has not been entirely cohesive in its management of China or the US. Lines of division visibly linger as the South China Sea issues remain unresolved. An Asean that preaches unity without walking its talk is as good as a fractured Asean.

So while we wait to see which great power blinks first, Singapore must continue to balance itself on a tightrope and hedge its bets in equal terms.

Lily Ong