SINGAPORE — The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) will intensify its counter-terrorism efforts in the next few months by developing new technologies and tools — such as palm-sized unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) — and working more closely with the Home Team to share intelligence and set up joint operational command systems.

More SAF units will also be trained to take on a wider range of security tasks, such as conducting deterrence patrols in populous areas. A new high-density urban training facility — featuring high-rise buildings, complex road networks, an MRT station and a bus interchange, among other things — will be built in the Lim Chu Kang Training Area.

Announcing these initiatives on Thursday (April 7) during the Ministry of Defence’s (MINDEF) Committee of Supply debate, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen stressed the need for security forces here to be able to deal with orchestrated attacks such as those over the past five months in Paris and Brussels, “where airports, MRT stations, shopping malls and town centres are targeted simultaneously”.

Referring to January’s terrorist attack near the Sarinah shopping mall in central Jakarta, Dr Ng added: “We do not assume that attacks will only be carried out by lone wolves or small wolf packs, like those which occurred in Jakarta.”

Dr Ng said that since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York, the SAF has stood up task forces in a “high readiness posture,  fully manned to deal with peacetime threats even with little warning”.
Two specific task forces are organised to respond quickly on land. The Special Operations Task Force (SOTF) drawn from the Commandos, Naval Diving Unit and assets from across the army, navy and airforce, will be the first responders in counter-terrorism and other contingency operations.

The Island Defence Task Force safeguards homeland security with regulars and operationally-ready NSmen protecting key installations, such as Changi Airport, Jurong Island and Sembawang Wharves. “They regularly conduct patrols with the Home Team. Because they are tasked to deal with real threats, they are armed,” Dr Ng said.

At sea, the Maritime Security Task Force protects Singapore’s waterways while the Air Defence Task Force keeps close watch over the skies.

Dr Ng said that after the 2008 Mumbai attacks, MINDEF’s response plans were again strengthened to tighten the linkages with home-front and other government agencies.

Under the latest plans, the SOTF will be equipped with better tactical sensors such as micro-UAVs that are “well-suited for urban terrains”. Learning from the recent terror incidents, the SOTF must have the capability to “respond even faster when activated, and have the means to neutralise armed attackers, in addition to hostage rescue”, Dr Ng said.

Beyond the national borders, SAF will step up efforts in existing multinational counter-terrorism operations. In a move that was announced in January, SAF would extend its deployment of an Imagery Analysis Team to the anti-Islamic State (IS) coalition for another year this year.

Singapore will also increase intelligence-sharing with neighbours Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as countries such as the United States and Australia. These countries can warn Singapore and help nab suspects planning to harm it, Dr Ng said. This is crucial as militants have often used South-east Asia as a transit point before joining IS in Iraq and Syria, he added.

In his speech, Dr Ng noted the increasingly complex and volatile security environment. The SAF will continue to adapt its responses to the threats, he said.

Unlike in the past where wars were fought in specific localities, today’s conflicts are increasingly borderless. “In (an age of) cyber attacks and biological pandemics, ground zero can arise anywhere and spread far very quickly,” he said.

The SAF sees cyber attacks as a serious trend, said Dr Ng. “It can potentially be more disruptive than even physical intrusions, because it can disrupt your key installations.” As an open economy connected to the rest of the world, the Republic is particularly susceptible to such threats, he added.

The SAF will invest “substantially” to train more cyber defence personnel, doubling the manpower of its Cyber Defence Operations Hub by 2020. It could also tap on artificial intelligence and big data analytics to better detect and respond to cyber threats, he said.

The SAF will also leverage technology to address a manpower challenge - brought on by Singapore’s demographic changes - such as by deploying more unmanned platforms in addition to UAVs. Unmanned ground vehicles and unmanned vessels may eventually complement manned assets in security patrols on land and at sea, Dr Ng said.