Singapore: In the past week, Anthony Albanese has taken in a papal inauguration, Indonesian military pageantry of the highest order and quality face-time with some of the most consequential leaders of a rattled free world.

Amid such headlines, backdrops and notables, it was enough to make Tuesday’s brief pass-through in Singapore to meet freshly elected Prime Minister Lawrence Wong seem a little … ho-hum?

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese departs Rome on Monday for his flight to Singapore.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Such a view, if one held it, is a testament to Singapore’s stability, pragmatism and predictability more than anything else.

Australia and Singapore have a mature and steady friendship. There are no major spats or tempestuous personalities in the mix. And this is good, as the relationship is one of Australia’s most important.

“It’s such a different environment now, and no one can tell how it’s developing, but it’s quite clear it’s not going to go back to what it used to be. We are in a world of flux,” Wong said in a brief moment before the TV cameras, clearly referencing the global uncertainty emanating from the Trump administration’s great-power rivalry with China.

“I think the partnerships we have become much more important, and we share a very common strategic perspective of the world, Australia and Singapore. We want it to be free [and with] open trade rules based on strong multilateral........

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