JS-SEZ as a Catalyst for Broader Trilateral Collaboration in Southeast Asia
The newly established Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) has the potential to become the bedrock for a much wider trilateral cooperation that would include Indonesia’s Batam, Bintan, and Karimun (BBK) region.
This vision was articulated by Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Minister for Trade and Industry, Gan Kim Yong.
While the JS-SEZ is fundamentally a bilateral agreement between Singapore and Malaysia, Gan emphasized that its strategic significance is amplified by ASEAN’s overarching framework for regional partnership.
He revealed that discussions are already underway among Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia to resurrect and expand upon earlier concepts of cross-border regional growth, echoing the spirit of the historical Singapore-Johor-Riau growth triangle initiative.
Singapore currently maintains robust bilateral projects with both the BBK region and Johor individually.
The critical shift now is in conceptualizing how these three distinct parties can coalesce and work in tandem.
This collaboration is designed to fundamentally change the investment landscape, ensuring that efforts to attract capital are not siloed but instead market the combined geographic area, positioning the entire region—not just Singapore—as a unified and highly attractive investment destination.
Enhancing Regional Investment Promotion through Tripartite Synergy
The prospect of a three-way collaboration is seen as a powerful mechanism to significantly strengthen regional investment promotion and increase the overall attractiveness of the area to global investors.
DPM Gan noted that by combining the unique strengths of Singapore, Johor, and the BBK region, the value proposition offered to potential investors and businesses becomes significantly stronger and more diversified.
This expanded scope means that businesses are provided with a broader range of operating options and locational advantages, making the entire sub-region—which includes the JS-SEZ and the BBK area—a more compelling choice than any single location.
While acknowledging that the transition from a purely bilateral arrangement to a full trilateral cooperation will inevitably present challenges, Gan reported that preliminary discussions with his Malaysian and Indonesian counterparts have been overwhelmingly positive and constructive.
The shared commitment to explore this potential is high-level, with Gan recently having engaged in discussions with Indonesia’s Economic Affairs Coordinating Minister Airlangga Hartarto and Malaysia’s Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz.
All three leaders have agreed to continue exploring specific areas for potential collaboration across the three nations.
Charting the Course for Combined Regional Benefits and Future Growth
Although the concept of a tri-party alliance is in its nascent stages, the political will to advance the initiative is clear among the three nations.
DPM Gan confirmed that while the high-level discussions have begun, there are no specific, finalized details yet, as the idea requires time to fully evolve and for the complex coordination mechanisms to be properly established.
The ultimate next step is to methodically explore how the deepened cooperation among Singapore, Johor, and the BBK region can generate stronger and combined economic and strategic benefits for all involved.
This focus on synergy is crucial: the objective is not just to coordinate, but to achieve an integrated outcome where the combined effect of their cooperation is greater than the sum of their individual parts.
This move from the bilateral JS-SEZ to a potential trilateral framework aims to create an economic powerhouse in the Strait of Malacca, leveraging their complementary capabilities in technology, manufacturing, logistics, and digital services to attract major regional and international players, thus ensuring long-term shared prosperity and reinforcing the stability of Southeast Asia’s economy.
