Bangkok, May 19, (dpa/GNA) – In a rare double diplomatic spat, Singapore’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday separately criticized India and the US, accusing the latter of interference in its domestic affairs and slamming a top Indian official over claims about a Singaporean coronavirus variant.
The ministry said it “notes with regret that the US Embassy in Singapore co-hosted a webinar with a local organisation Oogachaga,” which describes itself as “Singapore’s Most Established LGBTQ+ Community Organisation,” on Monday.
The ministry said it reminded the embassy that “foreign missions here are not to interfere in our domestic social and political matters, including issues such as how sexual orientation should be dealt with in public policy.”
The US and Singapore have close ties, with their militaries last week staging the annual “Tiger Balm” joint training exercise.
Earlier on Wednesday the ministry announced it had met India’s High Commissioner, or ambassador, over “unfounded assertions” by Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal that “a variant of Covid-19 found in Singapore was particularly harmful to children and could cause a third wave of infections in India.”
The Health Ministry earlier said “there is no Singapore variant” of the virus.
“The strain that is prevalent in many of the Covid-19 cases in recent weeks is the B.1.617.2 variant, which originated in India,” the ministry said.
Last month Singapore banned arrivals from India, including long-term or work visa holders.
The city-state recently retightened domestic restrictions after a slight rise in virus numbers, with 38 new cases reported by the Health Ministry on Wednesday.
Singapore’s virus-related death toll of 31 is the world’s 14th-lowest.
GNA