The Threat of Terrorism to Singapore

Following the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on 11 September 2001, Southeast Asia, especially the Malay archipelago, has come into focus as the so called “second front” in the war against international terrorism. Subsequent events brought home the fact that the events of 11 September 2001 had great resonance within the region. The existence of an Al-Qaeda-affiliated network in the region was highlighted by the arrests in Singapore since January 2002 of 37 members of the regional extremist network, the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI). The radical Islamist group planned to attack American military personnel at a local subway station, U.S. naval vessels at Singapore's Changi Naval Base, U.S. commercial interests, Western and Israeli embassies, and Singaporean military facilities. Had the planned attacks succeeded, they would collectively have constituted the largest terrorist attack since 11 September 2001. They would have caused many casualties as well as made an immense political, psychological and economic impact on Singapore that would have reverberated throughout the region and internationally. Because Singapore is closely identified with the United States on political, security and economic issues, hosts a naval logistics facility that has supported U.S. naval and military operations in the Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf and Afghanistan, and is home to many U.S. multinationals operating in the region, Singapore is a prime target of radical Islamists. As a consequence, Singapore's response to the war on international terrorism has been the most vigorous of the Southeast Asian states. Like the United States, it has taken homeland security very seriously, and has instituted as a top national priority, the implementation of a new homeland security architecture that would better protect Singapore against terrorism. In August 2004, the government formally outlined Singapore's National Security Strategy primarily aimed at countering the terrorist threat.