I do not understand why many Singaporeans are sharing this video around as if it's some demonstration of the wit and intellect of LHL.
It's just a typical feeder question that is designed to allow the interviewee to reiterate a standard well prepared answer. You see plenty of these in political and corporate settings.
You throw this question to Hun Sen or Prayut they will say roughly the same thing as well - nope, we are not China stooges and have our own independent foreign policy that places national interest and social cohesion as top priority.