SPEECH BY MR TEO CHEE HEAN,MINISTER FOR DEFENCE, AT SECOND READING OF THE SAF (AMENDMENT) BILL, 21 MAY 2007, 5.00 PM AT PARLIAMENT
1. Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, “that the bill be now read a second time”.
Introduction
2. Sir, the Bill before this House seeks to amend the Singapore Armed Forces Act. It will give legal powers for the SAF to conduct security operations in support of civilian authorities. The proposed amendments strengthen domestic legislation to address new security challenges.
3. Since the end of the Cold War, many of the old certainties about conflict have disappeared. In the post 9-11 environment, threats to national security do not just come from armies, air forces and navies of foreign powers. Irregular threats in the form of trans-national terrorists and international criminals are growing and generating new challenges to domestic security.
4. Extremists, together with criminal elements, now operate globally targeting what they consider hostile interests and governments. Many are small terrorist cells and radicalised individuals acting autonomously within their own countries. These home-grown cells, for whom Al Qaeda remains a powerful ideological icon, are capable of striking anywhere in the world and in any part of a country in unexpected and unanticipated ways. Well-defended borders alone do not guarantee security.
5. In this new threat environment, states face an elusive foe. Lead times for warning and response will be far shorter. The enemy hides among innocents and organises in small groups. He does not wear a uniform and may not even hold a gun - the 9-11 hijackers were armed only with box-cutters when they took control of several aircraft and used them as weapons against national targets. The 2002 Bali bombers merged into the bustling crowd of locals and tourists.
6. These new adversaries have a destructive impact that far exceeds their numbers. Radical extremists and terrorists have no qualms about murdering innocents to inspire fear for political ends. With long-term planning and access to technical know-how and money, they can launch deadly attacks wherever there are crowds of people and against infrastructure, such as aviation, petroleum, and tourism related targets.
7. The equation of national defence and security has changed. States face security threats that operate across jurisdictions for external defence and internal security. Any lack of co-ordination between security agencies can create vulnerabilities that such elements can exploit. A closely co-ordinated inter-agency approach to security is therefore required to keep Singapore safe.
8. What are the existing security operations. MINDEF and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) are therefore co-operating closely. The SAF has for some time been supporting the Home Team and other government agencies in domestic security operations. This is at their request, to effectively meet the evolving security challenges.
9. Terrorist attacks can come by air, by sea or by land. We know that Al Qaeda was actively targeting Singapore ports, and the JI was planning to crash a hi-jacked airliner into Singapore. The SAF is currently supporting civilian authorities to counter both air and maritime threats. This makes sense because it would not be efficient for the Home Team to duplicate the SAF’s air and sea defence capabilities. Only the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) has capabilities to counter aerial threats. In the maritime arena, the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) works closely with the police coast guard to combat piracy and protect sea lanes. The navy conducts patrols 24 hours a day, seven days a week within our territorial waters, escorts selected shipping that ply our waters, and inspects sensitive vessels.
10. For land security operations, there are three things that the SAF is currently doing. This is for land security operations.
First, SAF personnel are called upon to support civilian authorities in operations requiring specialised capabilities that the SAF has. These include Special Operations, and Chemical, Biological Radiological and Explosive (CBRE) operations.
Second, SAF troops are deployed on a long term basis to protect key installations, such as Jurong Island, the Sembawang Wharves, Changi Airport and various SAF camps.
Third, SAF personnel are called upon to augment the Singapore Police Force to provide security during major events like the International Olympic Committee Session, the S2006 IMF-World Bank Meeting and National Day parades, and the SAF will be deployed again for the ASEAN Summit later this year.
11. Today, about 1000 SAF personnel are deployed every day for security operations to protect key installations and for maritime and air operations. In the event of additional security operations like the S2006, the World bank IMF Conference, a further 1000 or so personnel are deployed. These current efforts leverage on the SAF’s capabilities and resources to supplement civilian enforcement agencies. As a small country with limited resources, this is a sensible approach to enhance domestic security in a more complex and uncertain security environment that we face.
12. In order to fulfil the mission of national defence, militaries around the world are also undertaking homeland, air and maritime security operations in a non-war environment. For example, in Australia, legislation allows the Defence Force to be used to protect against national security threats within the country. They have the powers to detain, search, seize and exercise reasonable force to do so.
Current Gaps
13. Although SAF personnel are already undertaking homeland, air and maritime security operations, their legal powers and protection under domestic law when they are deployed are not sufficiently well-defined. These security operations often require the SAF to exercise selected and specific legal powers in Singapore territory and international waters and airspace that were not previously envisioned. Such powers include the right to intercept, stop, search and detain, seize, and apply force against hostile aircraft, vessels and persons. Existing legislation that SAF personnel operate under do not define these powers adequately.
14. Under the SAF Act, only military policemen have powers of search and arrest and these are limited to places under possession, control or occupancy of the SAF or situations where SAF operations are obstructed.
15. The Protected Areas and Protected Places Act (PAPA) provides SAF powers of search and arrest to protect installations like Jurong Island, but only within the gazetted premises. So SAF guards do not have the authority to stop or search suspicious vessels or persons in the vicinity of, or approaching the gazetted premises. They have to seek assistance from the police and wait for the police to arrive and take action. The Protected Areas and Protected Places Act does not cover situations where SAF personnel are called upon to support the police to provide security during major events or for patrolling Changi Airport. They are not empowered to search suspicious persons and are hence constrained in dealing with terrorist threats like car bombs or suicide bombers. For instance, the servicemen who accompany police officers at Changi Airport are not vested with powers to search or detain suspects or seize suspicious items during joint patrol duties. They assist the police whom they accompany.
16. The Public Order (Preservation) Act allows the SAF to be employed to assist the civil authority, but only after the proclamation of a state of emergency by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). This process is not sufficiently responsive in situations where the SAF needs to respond immediately to an imminent threat. The Public Order (Preservation) Act was designed to meet a completely different set of circumstances where you have riots and curfews.
17. Although SAF personnel can exercise force under the general provisions of the Right of Private Defence, these only allow them to act as though they are private citizens. It does not give them powers and protections as officers on duty acting to protect public security.
18. Furthermore, there is currently no domestic law that regulates SAF operations in international waters and airspace, although under international law, Singapore authorities do have jurisdiction over Singapore-registered and stateless vessels and aircraft.
19. Mr Speaker Sir, Mr Deputy Speaker Sir. There is therefore a need for a proper legal framework to ensure everything in the conduct of security operations is properly specified, and to lay out clearly what servicemen can and cannot do. The proposed amendments to the SAF Act will provide the necessary framework for regulating the SAF when conducting security operations in support of civilian authorities. It will provide a clear legal basis for exercising the necessary powers. Permit me to highlight key parts of the Amendment Bill.
20. The proposed amendments specify the circumstances under which the SAF may be utilised to conduct security operations in support of civilian authorities.
Under Section 201B, the Minister for Defence may authorise the SAF to conduct air and sea operations, such as to combat piracy and to detect and prevent any aerial or maritime threat to Singapore.
Under Section 201C, the Minister may also make an order for the SAF to aid civilian authorities in land operations upon the occurrence or likely occurrence of an event like a terrorist attack or hostage taking.
Such security operations would comprise protection of key installations, support during national events and counter-terrorist operations such as hostage rescue.
21. Sections 201B and 201C also set out the selected legal powers that may be lawfully exercised by servicemen involved in the security operations. These include powers to stop, detain, search, and use reasonable force against suspect vehicles, vessels and persons. The SAF will not be given investigation or prosecution powers against civilians. Under Section 201G, any person arrested or thing seized, whether in a land, sea or air operation, must be handed over, as soon as practicable, to the police.
22. The amendments also put in place checks and safeguards and in fact it is really one of the motivation why we want to have this amendment in place. Under Section 201B, authorisation for the SAF to support civilian authorities in air and sea operations can only be made by the Defence Minister. Section 201C imposes an additional safeguard for land-based security operations. The Minister for Defence has to first consult a committee appointed by the Prime Minister, before he can issue an order for the SAF to assist civilian authorities for land operations. However, if an extraordinary emergency makes it impractical to consult the committee before issuing the order, he must consult the committee within three days or the order will lapse. Section 201E sets out the chain of command for the exercise of powers. It requires a serviceman to exercise powers only in accordance with authorisation by the Minister or under an order from a superior, acting in accordance with the Minister’s authorisation.
23. The powers provided to the SAF are strictly circumscribed and are limited to those necessary for the servicemen to conduct the operations in aid of the civil authorities. They do not exceed the powers that the Police have. The powers will be limited to specific areas, allocated periods of time, and for specific tasks, as approved by the Minister. Under Section 201C, any order for the SAF to be deployed for land operations must specify the relevant circumstances, location or infrastructure, the interest to be protected or threat averted, the legal powers that apply and the period the order will be in force. SAF personnel will not have any powers when they are not on duty and hence, cannot interpose in situations like the Police.
Implementation
24. To effectively operationalise these provisions, SAF personnel will be appropriately trained to exercise the limited legal powers accorded to them. MINDEF is co-operating closely with the Ministry of Home Affairs to ensure that SAF troops deployed in security operations are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills.
25. The SAF Military Police Command is the lead agency in the SAF to ensure a comprehensive and robust training system. It will develop lesson plans and training aids, conduct courses, and audit SAF units to ensure standards and compliance at the system-level. It also maintains the currency of the training system by organising regular seminars and workshops to disseminate updates and best practices.
26. To ensure quality training, we train our trainers rigorously and benchmark training standards to the Singapore Police Force (SPF). SAF Military Police (MP) Command instructors conduct the courses for SAF personnel expected to execute the legal powers of search, arrest and seizure. These instructors are also trained by the Singapore Police Force. In addition, Police Officers are regularly invited by the Military Police Command as subject matter experts to share operational experiences. This ensures that our trainers' expertise is updated and kept relevant. The Military Police command staff and instructors will also attend overseas international seminars and courses to learn global best practices for security related operations.
27. The SAF Military Police Command has worked closely with their Singapore Police Force counterparts to adapt the relevant training curriculum to meet the SAF's operational requirements. The course topics conducted by Military Police Command include general legal knowledge, assessment of situation and suspects, search techniques, effecting arrest, incident site management, and seizure of suspect materials during security operations.
This training syllabus has been validated with the police.
28. After being trained by the SAF Military Police Command, SAF personnel return to their respective operational units and undergo specialised training that focus on scenario-, location-specific and rules of engagement training contextualised to their unique operational environment, prior to being deployed for security duties. Subsequently, the SAF MP Command will conduct Refresher Courses to ensure that core competencies are regularly maintained and updates in doctrine and legal knowledge are disseminated systematically.
29. Currently, about 400 personnel have already been trained by the SAF Military Police Command. We will continue to train more personnel in the coming months to provide capacity to rotate personnel. As I mentioned earlier, we expect to train about 2000 servicemen for this purpose.
30. Standard Operating Procedures and Rules Of Engagement are being reviewed to govern the way the SAF conducts peacetime security operations under the new legal provisions, and how soldiers act in specific scenarios they might encounter during security operations. The same protocols the police use will be followed by the SAF. These ROEs and SOPs will be reviewed and updated regularly to ensure their relevance.
31. Sir, currently our SAF personnel are already deployed to assist domestic enforcement agencies to address emerging security threats.
32. The Bill provides a good legal framework to regulate the conduct of security operations when the SAF is deployed for security operations. It will provide the legal framework and basis for SAF servicemen to carry out these security duties, effectively, with confidence, and in a well regulated and defined manner. It will also give the public assurance that these servicemen are trained and legally empowered to do the job that they are doing.
33. Mr Speaker Sir, Mr Deputy Speaker Sir, I beg to move.