SAF achieved 'A-grade' in ensuring security of Trump-Kim summit: Ng Eng Hen
The recent Trump-Kim summit was an “invaluable opportunity” to show that Singapore is on the right track in building the capabilities of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) to respond to present-day security needs, said Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen.
Amid the prevailing and multi-faceted threats of terrorism, the different security agencies performed credibly in ensuring the success of the meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on 12 June, said Dr Ng, who was speaking to reporters on Friday (29 June) ahead of SAF Day on Sunday.
Calling the summit a rare opportunity in peacetime to test Singapore’s security capabilities, he added, “It is a strong reassurance that all these years, the steady investments in defence, building up unit by unit tells us what we have done is correct. When the test comes, we can perform.”
Singapore faced tremendous challenges in planning for the summit, the minister said. For one, the security agencies only had two weeks to put everything in place following the “flip-flop” confirmation that it would go on and ensure there was “no margin for error”.
The choice of Capella Hotel in Sentosa was also not ideal from a security perspective, Dr Ng said, adding that since the US and North Korea had chosen the venue, Singapore had to ensure that it would be “absolutely safe”.
While the location allowed for land movement restrictions, the seafront facing Sentosa posed a whole new security challenge.
Dr Ng cited the 2008 Mumbai attacks, where the perpetrators entered the Indian city by sea and were able to move very quickly to conduct their attacks. By comparison, the distance, when measured in time from international shipping lanes just south of Sentosa to the island, is in minutes, he noted.
A potential terrorist attack from air – be it via aircraft or munitions launched from nearby offshore islands – was also a possibility that couldn’t be ruled out, according to Dr Ng.
“Ten years ago, the thought that somebody could lob munitions from the South (of Sentosa) was not a real scenario until the terror cell in Batam was unearthed,” he explained, referring to a 2016 plot to launch a rocket attack from the Indonesian island on Marina Bay.
Given the possible threats, about 2,000 SAF personnel were deployed across air, land, and sea to build a “protective dome around Sentosa”, backed by newly-acquired defence assets such as the Littoral Mission Vessels and SPYDER Air Defence system, Dr Ng said.
Similarly, the arrival and departure of Trump and Kim were also a test of the SAF’s mettle, he added.
“Hundreds” of SAF soldiers were deployed to ensure the safety of the US entourage at Paya Lebar Airport and the North Korean entourage at Changi Airport. Singapore’s security agencies stood down from their high level of alert only after Kim left Singapore on 10 June.
While Dr Ng said that Singapore received no direct information from local and foreign intelligence agencies about possible terror plots happening during the summit, he stressed that it did not mean there were none.
“It’s not a foolproof method,” he said. “Sophisticated networks or terror elements can hide their tracks quite well.”
Calling the security deployment an overall success, the SAF’s performance merited an “A grade”, according to Dr Ng.
But it was just shy of an “A+” as there were some gaps revealed, which the SAF is currently closing, said Dr Ng without elaborating.
He added, “It was a clear sign that the SAF meant business. If you decide to undertake any mischief, we will respond with nothing held back.”
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