June 1st 2003
SENATOR TAKES SM LEE BACK TO THE FUTURE
AMERICAN officials love to hear Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew's views, particularly on future threats facing the world.
Senator Chuck Hagel notes that in the book Leaders, by Mr Richard Nixon, the former US president remarked how Mr Lee was one of the most impressive leaders he had ever met.
Writing about 25 years ago, Mr Nixon stated how Mr Lee's comments on future global threats were particularly cogent.
Said Mr Hagel: 'I reminded Mr Lee of that last night and suggested he might want to go back and re-read what Nixon said about the future of the world as we move into the 21st century.'
HOTEL GUEST HAS A TRIP TO REMEMBER
A HIGH-SPIRITED hotel guest at The Shangri-La Hotel almost set off a security alarm yesterday.
After his bag was checked by an X-ray machine, the young man plucked it off the machine's conveyor belt and tried to jump over a knee-high security barrier.
But his foot got caught in the rope and the entire line of metal posts holding up the rope barrier crashed to the lobby floor.
Police moved in for a closer look as the embarrassed man sped off.
SINGAPORE RESEARCH AND THE FRENCH CONNECTION
THE presence of top-tier defence officials from France at the Asia Security Conference has provided a useful backdrop for Singapore and France to boost joint research with two agreements.
The Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) and the Paris-based defence giant, Thales Group, yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding that will allow Thales to set up a corporate laboratory called Thales Technology Centre Singapore.
This will be Thales' first laboratory in the Asia-Pacific region and will be one of four similar facilities worldwide.
The signing comes hot on the heels of an agreement signed on Friday afternoon between DSTA, the National University of Singapore, Superlec - a leading French university - and France's aerospace research agency, Onera. The agreement will allow the four parties to jointly conduct basic defence research in electromagnetics and radar technology.
US AND SINGAPORE DEFENCE HEADS MEET
UNDERSCORING the strong ties between Singapore and the United States, US Deputy Secretary of Defence Paul Wolfowitz called on Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan at The Shangri-La Hotel yesterday.
Meetings with Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lee Hsien Loong and Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean were also planned.
In addition, Dr Tan and Rear-Adm (NS) Teo will meet their counterparts from Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines and Britain who are attending the conference.
