21 nations in sea exercise to counter weapons of mass destruction threat
Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman, Senior Minister of State for Defence and Foreign Affairs, and representatives from participating countries, observe Republic of Singapore Navy personnel coordinating with participants of Exercise Deep Sabre at Changi Naval Base, on Sept 27, 2016. Photo: Nuria Ling
SINGAPORE — With the growth in trade and information flows, illicit trade can now be easily masked by legitimate channels, said Senior Minister of State (Defence) Mohamad Maliki Osman on Tuesday (Sept 27), as he called for coordinated effort among various agencies and industry players in addressing the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
Addressing about 800 participants at the third Exercise Deep Sabre — a multinational exercise to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems and related material — Dr Maliki said: “If rogue groups get their hands on weapons of mass destruction, the impact on our security at the international, regional, and national levels would be devastating.”
He cited how North Korea’s actions in testing nuclear weapons and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria exploiting civilian materials to make weapons have caused international concern.
A wide range of goods today which have legitimate applications can also be used as components to make weapons of mass destruction, said Dr Maliki.
“These dual-use goods are both difficult to track and challenging to prove whether they are intended for illicit use,” he said.
As a small country located along key sea lines of communication, the Republic has an important role to play in the fight against the proliferation of WMDs, said Dr Maliki, citing the Information Fusion Centre inaugurated in 2009 as a key initiative to enhance regional maritime security.
The four-day exercise will see over 800 participants from 21 nations — including Singapore, Canada, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and the United States — take part in land and sea exercises to identify, intercept and take out “vessels suspected of smuggling WMD-related materials” cruising in the vicinity of the Changi Naval Base and parts of the South China Sea.
Officers from land divisions, such as the Singapore Armed Forces’ Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Explosives Defence Group, the Singapore Civil Defence Force and the Singapore Customs, will stand by to collect samples of materials for analysis and to decontaminate hazardous materials.
CLARIFICATION: The Ministry of Defence has clarified that 21 nations, not 17 as earlier reported, will be taking part in the exercises
