June 1st 2003
By Wong Siew Ying
Deputy Prime Minister Dr Tony Tan said the issue of Singapore housing temporary US military bases has not been raised between the Republic and the US.
Speaking to reporters after a lunch reception with defence ministers and officials who are attending a security conference here, Dr Tan said Singapore's military bases have been used by the US to facilitate the transit of warship and aircraft through Singapore in its campaigns in Afganistan and Iraq, but there's no talk of setting up US bases here.
"With regards to military base, I think the fact of life is that Singapore is a very small place so I'm not sure whether physically we can accommodate the stationing of US military troops here. (It) is not an issue which has been discussed between Singapore and the US, it has not been raised between us," he added.
Dr Tan also said apart from terrorism, the delegates were also concerned about role of the United Nations and how it could be more relevant to present security needs.
