But the visit of Mr Lee to Taiwan, his first since 1992, caused Beijing to warn that the “Singaporean side should take full responsibilities for results from the event”.

Mr Lee’s trip had been cloaked in secrecy, with Beijing’s expression of “strong dissatisfaction” on Sunday forcing the Singapore government to admit that Mr Lee was in Taiwan on a “private and unofficial visit . . . to meet with friends”.

His “friends” included Chen Shui-bian, the Taiwanese president, and Lien Chan, the leader of the opposition KMT party. He also met Yu Shyi-kun, the Taiwanese premier, on Sunday.

Singapore said Mr Lee's visit did not change its support for the "One China" policy, "nor does it represent any challenge to China's sovereignty".

Mr Lee recently visitied several Asian countries, including China and India, as Singapore’s deputy prime minister ahead of becoming the nation’s leader later this year.

Analysts said Mr Lee’s visit was meant to reaffirm bilateral economic and military co-operation. Accompanying Mr Lee was Singapore’s defence minister, Teo Chee Hean, who is seen as a possible candidate to succeed him as deputy prime minister.

Despite the absence of formal diplomatic ties, Taiwan and Singapore have maintained close relations, including a military programme in which Singaporean soldiers train in southern Taiwan.

The volatile relationship between Taiwan and China was almost certainly discussed during Mr Lee’s visit.

The threat of war is a special concern for Singapore and other south-east Asia nations because of the region’s increased dependence on China for economic growth.

“Lee will mention the concerns not just of Singapore but those shared by all [south-east Asian] countries,” said Philip Yang, a political science professor at National Taiwan University.

Mr Lee, who met the Chinese premier and president in May, appears to be following in the footsteps of his father, Lee Kuan Yee, modern Singapore’s first leader, who has cultivated close contacts with the Chinese leadership but also repeatedly visited Taiwan.

The elder Lee, who is currently Senior Minister, recently returned from a tour of China where he met top leaders and promoted rapidly expanding bilateral trade ties.

Singapore’s leaders are putting new emphasis on strengthening Chinese language skills to promote business links with China.

Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of China's central bank cancelled his trip to Singapore, a note yesterday on the Monetary Authority of Singapore website said, Dow Jones reports from Singapore. He was due to speak at the MAS Lecture tomorrow, which has now been cancelled.

                                                      Home