Minister for Defence, Dr Ng Eng Hen shared in Parliament today on how the SAF is preparing itself to respond to terrorists attacks.
"Updated Parliament today on how the SAF will respond to the threat of
terrorism on air, land and sea to protect Singaporeans. Used these two
infographics."
Ng Eng Hen via Facebook
The
Special Operations Task Force, drawn from the Commandos, Naval Diving
Unit and assets across the Army, Navy and Air Force will be the SAF’s
first responders to terror threats. - Ng Eng Hen
The SAF maintains vigilance over Singapore’s air, land and sea around the clock. - Ng Eng Hen
After I saw these two infographics, this image came to mind.
I am not trying to tease /bait /challenge any potential terrorists to come and try their luck here.
But I would like to point out that so far in our country's short history, terrorists have not had a good time.
The last time terrorists came to Singapore and tried to impose their own political agenda was in 1991, and it didn't end well for them.
SQ117, carrying 114 passengers and 11 crew members, was hijacked by 4 terrorists who claimed to be members of the Pakistan People’s Party.
The terrorists threatened to kill one hostage every 10 minutes after informed the negotiating team that they were no longer interested in communicating. This forced the authorities to act.
The Commandos stormed the plane and shot dead all four hijackers, leaving the hostages unharmed. The entire operation lasted 30 seconds.
Read more about the
SQ117 Hijack here.
Update: Here is CNA's media report on Dr Ng Eng Hen's statement in Parliament.
SAF to beef up firepower, personnel for fight against terrorism: MINDEF The Ministry of Defence will also continue its approach of steady investments that have built up a modern, capable armed forces, says Minister Ng Eng Hen.By
Justin Ong Posted 07 Apr 2016 14:38 Updated 07 Apr 2016 23:25
SINGAPORE: To combat the “clear and present threat” of terrorism, the
Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) will bolster its counter-terrorism
measures in the areas of incident response, training and equipping of
soldiers, and continuing to invest in defence expenditure.
“As of
now, there is no specific intelligence of any imminent plot against
Singapore, but the general assessment by our intelligence agencies
indicate that almost all cities are likely targets, including
Singapore,” said Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen on Thursday (Apr 7),
the second day of Committee of Supply debates in Parliament.
ISIS
is the greatest threat to Singapore, and the city-state is an
“attractive target” for the militant extremist group, Dr Ng said,
reminding the House that it was only last year that the group identified
Singapore as an enemy, and called on its followers to wage jihad here.
“Every
shopping mall, every crowded place is an opportunity for violent
extremists, for whom innocent civilians can be targeted. MHA (Ministry
of Home Affairs) has stepped up security checks but the terrorists only
need to succeed once,” he said.
“Under these circumstances, can
Singapore guarantee its residents that no extremist attack will occur?
We must step up our defences, and more importantly confront this threat
and prepare to deal with the aftermath together."
He also noted
that Singapore, as an open economy connected to the world, is
“particularly susceptible” to hybrid threats of long-term civil,
economic, social, psychological and military nature.
FIRST RESPONDERS
The SAF will continue to
collaborate closely with the Home Team on counter-terrorism efforts, and
the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) is currently reviewing and working to
enhance joint incident response plans, revealed Dr Ng.
He said the
SAF’s Special Operations Task Force (SOTF) - first responders in
counter-terrorism efforts on land – must have the capability to respond
“even faster” when activated, and have the means to neutralise armed
attackers on top of hostage rescue.
“The SAF is working with our defence engineers and scientists to equip
these forces with better tactical sensors like micro-UAVs (unmanned
aerial vehicles) small enough to fit in your palm and well-suited for
urban terrains,” said Dr Ng. “We will continue to develop new
technologies and tools that will give the SAF forces an edge in the
fight against terror.”
TRAINING, EQUIPPING SOLDIERS
More SAF units
will also be trained to face a wide range of security tasks such as
conducting deterrence patrols in populous areas, said Dr Ng.
“We
do not assume that attacks will only be carried out by lone-wolves or
smaller groups as those which occurred in Jakarta,” he explained. “We
must be able to deal with orchestrated attacks, like those which
occurred in Paris and Brussels too, where airports, MRT stations,
shopping malls and town centres are targeted simultaneously.”
Deployed
response units will be better equipped to perform their tasks with
added mobility, protection and precision in the form of firepower like
the Peacekeeper Protected Response Vehicle (PRV) which was commissioned
last year.
To prepare soldiers to competently undertake
counter-terrorism missions, the SAF will also build a new realistic
high-density urban training facility in Lim Chu Kang, with features such
as high-rise buildings, transport nodes and complex road networks,
announced Dr Ng.
DEFENCE INVESTMENTS
MINDEF will also continue to “invest wisely and spend prudently” on defence, said Dr Ng.
“Singapore
too could have gone down the path of European countries to reap our own
‘peace dividend’ when the threat of communism waned and ASEAN
progressed. Instead, we avoided spikes or dips in our defence spending
to maintain a strong SAF,” he noted.
“Even as our population ages
and social spending increases, we must maintain steady defence spending.
That is the most effective way to stretch each defence dollar, as it
allows us to plan for the long-term. It allows us to avoid disruptive
changes from fluctuating expenditures year-to-year.”
Added Dr Ng:
“For MINDEF, we buy only what the SAF needs and after a robust and
stringent evaluation process. We adopt the most cost-effective solution.
Our preference is to upgrade existing platforms, and only buy new
equipment when absolutely required.”
Singapore’s defence
expenditure has roughly kept pace wìth inflation, growing by about four
per cent annually in nominal terms over the past decade, and is expected
to maintain the same trajectory in the longer term, he said.
Dr Ng then provided the House with an update on the SAF’s assets.
This
year, the army will launch a new suite of Protected Combat Support
Vehicles to replace current non-armoured wheeled platforms for combat
service support functions.
The navy is acquiring eight Littoral Mission Vessels (LMVs) to
replace its long-serving Patrol Vessels, with the first LMV launched in
July last year and expected to be operational by early 2017. Two new
Type 218SG submarines are on track to replace the ageing
Challenger-class submarines and should be commissioned in 2020.
The
airforce’s aging Super Pumas and older CH-47 Chinook helicopters will
also be replaced, with MINDEF finalising evaluations and expected to
announce its new helicopters soon. Its F-16s will also be upgraded with
more advanced Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars and
air-to ground weapons.
Overall, the SAF will seek to deploy more
unmanned platforms, beyond UAVs, so that manpower resources can be freed
up for other missions, said Dr Ng.
The SAF will also invest more in cyber
defence, he added, by doubling the headcount of the Cyber Defence
Operations Hub (CDOH) by 2020. “We expect to use more artificial
intelligence and big data analytics to better detect and respond to
cyber threats,” said Dr Ng.
“The SAF will work closely with the national Cyber Security Agency (CSA) on this front.”
“DEFENDING SINGAPORE WITH THEIR LIVES”
Dr
Ng concluded that the security challenges faced by Singapore “bring
home the truth that each generation of Singaporeans will have to renew
their commitment to protect what they value here or lose it”.
“Just
as damaging as physical harm, extremists can sow mistrust between
Singaporeans and weaken our social cohesion,” he added. “The crucial
question is: After an extremist attack, will it splinter our society?
Will it paralyse Singaporeans and sow discord through fear?”
Reiterating
the SAF’s core value of soldiers pledging to defend Singapore with
their lives, Dr Ng said: “SAF commanders and soldiers must put Singapore
and Singaporeans first, above their own well-being, whether in training
or operations.”
“In this troubled peace, SAF will train hard,
prepare well and continually adapt to protect Singapore. With
Singaporeans strongly behind and with us, the SAF will respond
decisively to all those who seek to do us harm and protect this precious
island we call home.”
- CNA/jo
Channel News Asia
