Traversing the Migrant Corridor: Singapore’s First Ambassadors to Thailand, 1965–1990

Singapore and Thailand have maintained strong diplomatic relations since 1965, when Singapore declared its independence. During the premiership of Lee Kuan Yew, respected Chinese business migrants-turned-citizens, who at some point in their lives had viewed China as home, were selected to serve as Singapore’s first ambassadors to Thailand. The Singaporean ambassadors’ autobiographies, biographies, and recollections, as products of their new government’s cultural discourse, featured Chineseness in multicultural Singapore. This article examines the hitherto neglected role of these ambassadors (the “official” Singaporean sojourners in Thailand), who enjoyed the support of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in forging cordial relations between Singapore and Thailand before a fully operational diplomatic service could be developed in Singapore. By deploying and modifying China historian Philip A. Kuhn’s concept of the “migrant’s corridor,” the article explores how Sino-Singaporean businessmen maintained cultural and commercial ties to both their ancestral homeland and other members of the diaspora in locales such as Thailand. These connections would be mobilized to facilitate interstate diplomacy during the decolonization of Southeast Asia and the Vietnam War. By traversing the migrant’s corridor, the article suggests, Singapore’s first ambassadors to Thailand sought to reclaim roots in China and position themselves within Singaporean society. They believed in an imagined and fluid set of Chinese “values” which, based on their positivist and retrospective understanding, enabled them to create favorable outcomes in both business and diplomacy.