Good morning distinguished participants,

Ladies and gentlemen,

1.         I am pleased to be able to join you today for the opening of the Third IDSS-RUSI Conference. This conference, which brings together officials and researchers from the defence ministries and think tanks of Singapore and the UK, is symbolic of the rich and long-standing relationship between our two countries. Extending back to the 1800s and continuing to the present, the bond between Singapore and the UK has grown from an initial basis of colonial ties to one of shared strategic interests and broad-based co-operation. 

2.            Nowhere is this trend more evident than in the defence relationship between Singapore and the UK. Our defence ties have matured over the years, and our interactions have increased at many levels. We will be holding the inaugural policy dialogue between our defence establishments tomorrow, which I am sure will prove useful and  will improve our understanding of each other’s perspectives on global and regional security issues. At the military level, our navies exercise together on a regular basis and there is a healthy cross attendance of professional courses. In addition, Singapore and the UK have a steady collaboration in the area of defence technology both at the government and industry levels.

3.         A significant mainstay of our defence co-operation is, of course, the Five Power Defence Arrangements or FPDA, which has been contributing to the security of Southeast Asia for many years. Over the years, FPDA activities have grown in their comprehensiveness and professionalism, and the FPDA has recently taken decisive moves to address the new non-conventional security challenges of today. This year’s major FPDA exercise, Ex Bersama Lima, which for the first time incorporated maritime security, is a case in point. Defence co-operation has also been steadily advancing through other multilateral channels. For example, Singapore and the UK are also partners in the Proliferation Security Initiative or PSI, an initiative that seeks to curb the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and related materials. 

4.         This conference brings us together to discuss maritime security – which is an issue that has recently emerged high on the security agenda. This is an issue of global concern as over 90% of the world’s trade is transported by sea, with a world-wide fleet of around 50,000 merchant ships transporting every kind of cargo imaginable. Threats to maritime security, whether through the shutting down of ports or major waterways, can paralyse the international economy. This makes the maritime domain particularly attractive to terrorists seeking to make a global impact. As major maritime nations, these strategic concerns should ring all the more clearly to Singapore and the UK.

5.            Globally, the terrorist threat is real and immediate. We need only look back to the events of September 11 and the Madrid train bombings of March 2004 to remind ourselves of how our transport infrastructure can be used to perpetuate truly horrific attacks. The attacks on the USS Cole in 2000, the French tanker Limburg in 2002, and more recently, the Basra oil terminal in April 2004, demonstrate how maritime targets continue to be at risk from terrorists.

6.            Maritime security takes on an added dimension of importance in this region. Some of the world’s most important shipping lanes and trade routes straddle Southeast Asia. The Malacca and Singapore Straits are arteries through which the economies of Asia connect with those of South Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Roughly a quarter of the world’s trade and half of all oil shipments pass through the Malacca and Singapore Straits on some 50,000 ships each year. As a natural geographical “chokepoint”, the Malacca and Singapore Straits are particularly vulnerable.

7.            Singapore has therefore been encouraged by the growing international consensus on the strategic importance of regional maritime security, and the various concrete initiatives that have emerged of late. The littoral states of Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore have collectively taken action with the launch of the Malacca Straits Co-ordinated Patrols in July this year. Regional multilateral groupings are also playing their part. Aside from the commendable moves of the FPDA that I mentioned earlier, groupings like the Western Pacific Naval Symposium have also begun to put maritime security on their agendas and are moving ahead with initiatives such as exercises, which will help build interoperability among regional forces. Another positive development is the Regional Co-operation Agreement on Anti-Piracy in Asia or ReCAAP, a Japanese initiative which will provide a framework for enhancing co-operation, information exchange and capacity building among 16 regional countries. The centrepiece of ReCAAP is the establishment of an Information Sharing Centre in Singapore, which will provide more accurate reports of incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships in the region. 

8.         The collective momentum that has been generated by these initiatives is extremely healthy, and we should continue to ride on it to do more. Given the complex nature of the challenges at hand, our response has to be a multi-faceted one. We need to bring together the littoral states, the key user states, international organisations like the IMO, and even the shipping industry and MNCs if we are to find robust and comprehensive solutions to address the key  imperatives of security and economics.

9.         So this conference is extremely timely and provides a valuable opportunity for an exchange of views and perspectives between Singapore and the UK and between officials and researchers on this important topic. I hope that the discussions over the next day and a half will prove useful and will aid in enhancing our understanding of the issue. On this note, I wish all participants a successful and rewarding conference.

10.       Thank you.

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