Posted on 06/30/2018 8:11:01 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
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....
(Excerpt) Read more at sg.news.yahoo.com ...
Sorry I misread that as “No Egg Hen.” Getting old, I guess.
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