Singapore's Deployment to Support Multinational Coalition against ISIS

Dr Lim Wee Kiak asked the Minister for Defence whether he can provide an update on Singapore's deployment to support the multinational coalition against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria in light of recent terrorist incidents across the world as well as the recent arrest of Singaporeans under the Internal Security Act.

Madam, in January this year, I informed this House about the clear and present threat of terrorism. I said that "so long as terrorist organisations can influence and induct others to their cause and do their bidding, no country is safe", and this is the reason why the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) has joined other partners to combat the spread of terrorism at its source – for the SAF, first, by deploying troops in Afghanistan against Al Qaeda and now in Iraq and Syria against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). By contributing to international efforts against jihadi terrorists, we are contributing to our own security.

Since then, efforts by the multinational coalition have weakened ISIS militarily in Iraq and Syria. The coalition is working towards capturing Mosul in Iraq and isolating Al-Raqqa in Syria, in order to dismantle ISIS' presence in these countries. So, as a rough measure, since the start of operations, ISIS has lost more than 40% of the populated territory it once held in Iraq, and around 20% of its territory in Syria.

But despite this weakened position, ISIS supporters have been able to carry out over 20 attacks in countries across the Middle East, Europe, North America and Southeast Asia over the past months. I think many of us are horrified by the attacks that have occurred. We remember the one in Nice, France, on Bastille Day, which killed 84 people; a hostage siege in a cafe in Dhaka that saw 23 people dead. Nearer home, a grenade attack at a nightclub in Puchong that injured eight.

And just a few days ago, Indonesian authorities arrested six suspects who were planning attacks on Singapore by using rockets launched from Batam against targets in Marina Bay. They were working with Bahrun Naim, who is an Indonesian fighting for ISIS in Syria, who is also believed to have masterminded the attack in Jakarta early this year.

It is, therefore, clear that ISIS, even from thousands of kilometres away in Iraq and Syria, poses a direct threat to Singapore's security here. From our region alone, we would do well to remember that about 1,000 Southeast Asians have joined ISIS. In Singapore, there are presently 20 persons in detention, one on Suspension Direction and 22 others on Restriction Orders for terrorism-related activities. It is not a small problem. For every terror plot we foil and would-be terrorist we arrest, we must assume that there will be more plots and more terror cells searching for new means to penetrate our defences and do harm to Singaporeans, as Senior Minister of State Desmond Lee pointed out. These developments underscore the harsh fact that the battle against jihadi terrorism will be a long-term challenge. It has been 15 years since the fight against Al Qaeda began. It may take just as long against ISIS, if not longer. Singapore, as with the rest of the world, will have to adjust, even as we are determined to carry on with our lives in facing these waves of global terror.

Dr Lim Wee Kiak has asked for an update and let me provide that. Singapore has been contributing to the counter-ISIS coalition since December 2014. We have deployed a liaison officer to the United States (US) Central Command Headquarters, and an intelligence planner and an Imagery Analysis Team to the Combined Joint Task Force which is headquartered in Kuwait. Our KC-135R tanker aircraft has also supported the coalition's air-to-air refuelling operations, and our coalition partners have found our deployments useful and valuable.

More recently, the coalition has identified an added need and asked SAF for medical support to coalition forces in Iraq. SAF has, therefore, agreed to deploy a medical support team to address the healthcare needs and medical triage of coalition troops and local residents in Iraq. This is not the first time that SAF has deployed a medical team for overseas operations. Members here will recall that SAF also sent medical teams to Afghanistan between 2008 and 2011. We were there to support stabilisation operations.

In a similar way, our deployment in Iraq will augment existing coalition medical resources. Through this deployment, our personnel will also gain good operational experience. The exact size, composition and capabilities of the medical support team will be determined after our Needs Assessment and Survey Team has assessed the situation. The deployment is expected to take place in 2017 for around three months. Soldiers from our Army Deployment Force will also be deployed to provide force protection for our medical team.

The threat posed by terrorism is a long-term one and the campaign against ISIS will not end quickly. As the fight against ISIS evolves, we will continue to assess the relevance and effectiveness of our contributions and work with our partners to determine how Singapore can best contribute.

Mdm Speaker, let me thank the Minister for his update on this. I would like to ask the Minister: how does the Ministry evaluate the request from the multinational coalition in terms of the involvement? Currently, we have been mainly involved in support services and, now, medical as well as informatics. If one day Singapore were to be asked to contribute directly to the strike force, either through the Air Force or through ground forces, what would the Ministry's response be?

Madam, our overall assessment when requests are made is, first, to see whether Singapore has a direct interest that we should be contributing to. And, in this case, it is obvious. As I said, remember, in Al Qaeda, there were also plots against us. And the source of that motivation, radicalisation, induction and actual resources provided, if not in know-how, manpower and money, finance from abroad. So, it is to our direct interest and our security interests. And I think that should be the predominant decision.

As to how we can contribute, it depends on the circumstances. We would like to contribute to make sure that we make a difference; not a token difference, but a real difference. And if our contributions in Afghanistan can be compared with, we made a difference. We made a difference in Uruzgan when we provided personnel to tend to both the troops as well as the residents in Afghanistan through a hospital. I visited it. It was a very good hospital and they were actually tending to civilian injuries, both children and adults. Our imagery analyst teams made a difference because we could disrupt cells. So, that was actually part of, if you like, what we call the tooth, not the tail. That is not combat support, but we are actually making a difference.

Our weapons locating radar made a big difference. When bombs in Afghanistan where we were deployed were shot at, our troops and other coalition troops, many people depended on our Weapons Locating Radar to give them the three seconds to duck for cover. And it made a big difference.

So, we will try to continue to make significant contributions. For our current deployment, coalition partners have said that they valued our KC135R tankers. They have valued our imagery analysts. In fact, it was when US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter visited the imagery analyst team here that had come back, he personally thanked them because it was their work that allowed a particular terrorist bank that got disrupted, that reduced the means for them to finance global terrorism. So, those will be the key considerations. We want to make a difference and it must make a difference to Singapore's security directly.