According to an official watchdog assessment, United States Ambassador to Singapore Jonathan Kaplan had “poor relationships” with some Singapore ministries, which hindered America’s diplomatic objectives. The State Department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) reported in February 2024 that “multiple embassy sections noted that the Ambassador developed poor relationships with some Singaporean ministries.” The report pointed out that in certain instances, this hampered efforts to achieve diplomatic objectives and suggested more research into his behavior.
Ambassador Kaplan stated that he accepted full responsibility and that he would deal with any issues brought up in the report. In a statement, he declared, “I stand by the work of the State Department OIG.” I fully accept responsibility for seeing to it that the issues and suggestions raised in the report are promptly addressed, as does my staff. Congress has mandated that the OIG perform regular inspections. The results of the report were derived from document reviews, staff surveys and interviews, and observations of meetings and activities held by the embassy. The report states that the Ambassador “often made statements that were counterproductive to a section’s work and was unprepared on issues.
The numerous projects undertaken by the ambassador were often unachievable, diverted the embassy’s limited resources, and hindered the staff’s ability to carry out their primary responsibilities. Employees questioned several programs’ usefulness in furthering US objectives in Singapore, the report stated. The investigation also discovered that the ambassador’s interactions with Singapore’s traditional media were minimal. The report stated that since his arrival in Singapore, he has only participated in two off-the-record press appearances. According to the report, the ambassador told OIG that he preferred to use social media and didn’t need to deal with Singapore’s traditional media.
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