@liztai It is 100,000% a racist dog whistle. Tom Cotton knows PRECISELY what he is doing.
What makes it funnier is him saying "Have you now or have you ever been a member of the Chinese Communist Party?" is an exact quote from disgraced anti-Communist Senator Joseph McCarthy who led the Red Scare in the 1950s.
But you are right - most American's wouldn't be able to place Singapore on a map.