SAF to restructure intelligence and cyber defence units, acquire new ships for maritime security amid evolving threats
SINGAPORE: The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) will restructure its intelligence and cyber defence units as well as acquire new ships to boost maritime security, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said in Parliament on Monday (Mar 2).
This is in response to the clear and present security threats of terrorism, cyber and maritime threats, Dr Ng said in his Committee of Supply debate speech.
Along with the rest of the world, Singapore has entered into a different phase in geopolitics - messier, less predictable, and with therefore more unseen events, he said.
Dr Ng said China has become the world’s largest naval force, while the US has designated the Indo-Pacific as a priority theatre and characterised China as a “strategic competitor” and “rival power”.
Despite the challenges, Dr Ng said Singapore has forged even stronger defence relations with both countries, and must preserve its own space and sovereignty with the world at an “inflexion point”.
“Military spending in Asia has grown by more than 50 per cent in the last decade, with both China and India in the list of top five global spenders. ASEAN member states have doubled their spending on defence over the last 15 years,” he added.
MARITIME
In the maritime domain, the SAF will restructure its Maritime Security Task Force (MSTF) to better respond to the increasing maritime security threat in the Singapore Strait.
There were 31 suspected sea robbery incidents in the Singapore Strait in 2019, a four-year high according to an international maritime information sharing centre.
The restructuring includes the acquisition of new, purpose-built ships to be delivered in the next few years, MINDEF said, adding that four patrol vessels will be refurbished for this purpose in the interim.
“These ships will be dedicated and deployed for greater persistence to protect our territorial waters,” it stated.
“Together with the MSTF’s Littoral Mission Vessels, these new assets will enhance the MSTF’s capabilities to protect Singapore’s waters against intrusion and other maritime threats.”
MINDEF said the MSTF will continue to work closely with national agencies, like the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority and Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, through the Singapore Maritime Crisis Centre, to safeguard Singapore’s waters.
Dr Ng said Singapore has reached out to Malaysia and Indonesia to propose extending the Malacca Straits Patrol initiative, where the countries share intelligence and conduct joint patrols in the Singapore Strait, to other areas in its surrounding waters.
“Maritime threats are transnational in nature and cannot be solved without co-operation and collaboration from our neighbours,” Dr Ng said, adding that discussions are ongoing.
Overall, the minister said the measures come as Singapore watches the changing geopolitics closely while pursuing its own interest.
“We have no desire to take sides or be caught in the crossfire,” he added. “So far, we have maintained independence and space for ourselves, but as contestation increases in this region, it will be increasingly difficult to do so.”
See full article CNA