Before Dickson Yeo went to the United States to spy for China, he once tried to get a job in Singapore that would give him access to sensitive information. Former Senior Diplomat and Trade Negotiator Barry Desker said Yeo had “tried unsuccessfully to secure employment in Singapore government agencies dealing with classified issues”. Mr Desker, who is also a Distinguished Fellow at RSIS said, “We should not discount the possibility that he was acting at the behest of his handlers. Fortunately, Dickson was not selected.” Mr Kwa Chong Guan, a Senior Fellow at RSIS who previously worked at the Ministry of Defence, described Yeo’s recruitment as “the routine work of any intelligence agency” and “nothing notable or exceptional”. RSIS Executive Deputy Chairman Ong Keng Yong said he believes Singapore’s bilateral relations with the US and China will remain intact. This is because Singapore’s relations with the US are “longstanding and robust”, while Singapore’s bilateral cooperation with China is also well known, said Mr Ong, who was previously Singapore’s High Commissioner to India and Malaysia.