Perhaps even more notable has been the establishment of three government-to-government projects over the years which are in line with the development priorities and needs of the two countries. By working hands-on on common projects, the two countries are able to share and benefit from each other's experiences as well as best practices from around the world. Moreover, each of these projects is overseen by a high-level bilateral cooperation mechanism that ensures progress is being made on a regular basis. Such a mechanism also provides a regular platform for the leaders and officials of the two countries to interact and get to know each other better. It would be rather unusual for China to have such a mechanism with a small country like Singapore unless it saw value in the relationship. [End Page 321]

The formation of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963 remains a source of much debate among historians. The official announcement by the Prime Minister of Malaya, Tunku Abdul Rahman, on 27 May 1961, urging a closer association of Malaya, Singapore and the three British-controlled Borneo territories is viewed by some studies as the trigger that led to the formation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963. While this study recognizes that Tunku’s proposal of May 1961 was a catalyst to the formal negotiations, it shows through a closer scrutiny of Colonial Office documents that the idea of a super-federation or “grand design” had been gradually planted in the minds of the elites in Malaya, Singapore and the Borneo territories, particularly from the early 1950s and that these confidential discussions were crucial to the acceptance of the basic premise of such a grand federation. It argues further that Tunku’s suggestion of a broader federation to Lord Perth in June 1960 merely speeded up the formal discussions for the federation that was already being seriously considered at the time by Colonial Office and British officials in the Borneo territories and Singapore. Thus the new federation was not merely a result of ‘local developments’ in Southeast Asia, but was also a by-product of a concerted effort in the Colonial Office to create a broader entity in Southeast Asia.