The nominee for the US ambassador to Singapore, Anjani Sinha, drew criticism during his Senate confirmation hearing when he struggled to answer questions about the island-state.
On Wednesday Dr Sinha was grilled by Senator Tammy Duckworth on the US’s relationship with Singapore and the island-state’s role in South East Asia.
At one point Ms Duckworth told him he was “unqualified” for the posting, and that he needed to “shape up and do some homework”. The exchange has since gone viral in Singapore and attracted critical comments online.
Dr Sinha’s nomination was first announced by Donald Trump in March, when the US President praised him as a “highly respected entrepreneur”.
“I have no doubt that Anji will strongly represent our Nation’s Interests, and put America First. Congratulations Anji!” said Trump in a Truth Social post, using a nickname for Dr Sinha.
Born in India, Dr Sinha is an orthopaedics and sports medicine surgeon now based in Florida who started several clinics in New York.
A US State Department report said his “native respect for both American and Asian values, and his deep social and cultural ties to the Indo-Pacific region”, as well as his business expertise, “render him well qualified” for the posting.
During the confirmation hearing by the Senate’s foreign relations committee, he was introduced by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham as “a friend of President Trump for over a decade”.
In his introduction speech and answers to other senators’ questions, Dr Sinha billed himself as a “lifelong bridge builder” and promised to “create a very strong relationship with Singapore” and “defend the defence, security and economic ties”.
‘More embarassador than ambassador’
But it is his exchange with Ms Duckworth, a senator with the Democratic Party, that has drawn the most scrutiny.
Ms Duckworth began by asking him about Singapore’s trade surplus with the US, which he initially answered as $80bn (£58.8bn) before changing his answer to $18bn.
Ms Duckworth noted the correct answer was $2.8bn.
When asked how he would convince Singaporeans of Trump’s decision to slap a 10% tariff – a controversial topic in the island-state – Dr Sinha gave various answers before ending with “the dialogue is not closed”.
Ms Duckworth also questioned him about issues that would be important to Singapore, the country’s upcoming chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) regional bloc, and the US Navy’s presence in Singapore.
Dr Sinha either did not know the answers or stumbled in his responses.
At the end of the exchange Ms Duckworth appeared exasperated and said: “I just feel you are not taking this seriously.
“You think this is a glamour posting, that you’re going to live a nice life in Singapore, when what we need is someone who can actually do the work.”
Noting that Singapore was a key US ally in the Indo-Pacific, she said: “You are not currently prepared for this posting, period, and you need to shape up and do some homework.”
The exchange has prompted a deluge of online comments from Singaporeans criticising Dr Sinha’s performance and questioning his suitability to be the US ambassador.
“Not sure which is a worst insult, the tariffs or having him as an ambassador to Singapore,” wrote one commenter.
“This guy is more ‘Embarassador’ then Ambassador,” said another.
Others praised Ms Duckworth, who had first come to Singaporeans’ attention earlier this year when she grilled US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during his confirmation hearing and he failed to name a single country in Asean.
Despite the controversy, Dr Sinha’s confirmation remains a strong possibility.
With Republicans dominating the Senate and its committees, the foreign relations committee appears set to approve his nomination which would then tee up a full Senate vote.
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