Posted on 04/07/2006 6:54:35 AM PDT by Wiz
In Southeast Asia, home to one of the world's most strategic sea lanesthe Straits of Malacca, and the world's second largest port, Singaporethe vulnerability of the maritime sector is of great concern. As a result, over the last few years various scenarios of how terrorists might carry out an attack in the maritime domain have been put forward by the media and academics alike. Many of these potential scenarios are extremely unlikely due to their complicated nature and their sheer impracticability. Nevertheless, a great number of these scenarios have remained unchallenged due to a lack of knowledge of the geography of the region, local shipping patterns and the nature of the commercial shipping industry in general. This has led to a misunderstanding of the threat posed by maritime terrorism.
This article seeks to address this problem by examining the credibility of a number of these scenarios. In addition, several other scenarios will be discussed which have received little or no attention in the literature on maritime security but which if carried out by terrorist groups could potentially have a serious impact on both Singapore and the efficient flow of global trade through the region's strategic sea lanes.
(Excerpt) Read more at jamestown.org ...
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There are a number of attacks that are also possible that would be much more devistating. Traffic between India and China pass through the Straits. Why not hit those cargo ships directly? IMHO, a combined strike would cause a lot more damage to economies than hitting a port.
Strangely, the author doesn't supply any justification for why Singapore would be hit. 'Terrorists' don't just attack for the sake of attacking. There are well defined goals involved. As far as I am concerned, hit them. Maybe it will finally give Thailand the justification for cutting a channel through Ranong and finally making Singapore dissapear off the map.
On another note, the author fails to mention that Singapore has the most modern military in South-East Asia.
The story sounds a bit familiar ~~
For more on who's taking care of SE Asia click below
I really don't know what to make of Singapore's defense spending. It is massive, easily outnumbering the other nations in the region. The thing that gets me is their military is specifically being positioned for force projection. It is not for self-defense. The question then becomes, projection against who?
Singapore might have an advanced Navy - but regional cooperation between Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia is lacking.
Good quesion. I have talked to people and read the history books, and my guess could come from a couple of places:
1. Malaysia: I believe they control Singapore's water supply, and what I have gathered over the 5 years of being here, every once and awhile Malaysia will threaten Singapore.
2. Past history; WWII and the mid-60's during independence: there are still the memories of how the Brits pulled out of Singapore and left it totally defenceless from the Japanese in WWII; the Japanese soldiers rode their bikes across the bridge from Malaysia unopposed; and their occupation is still fresh in Singapore's history... when Malaysia booted Singapore out of Malaya in '65 and the British withdrew over the next 5 years (a void filled eventually by the U.S.), it jolted Singapore into building up its armed forces.
I would also guess China vs. Taiwan is also in the equation.
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