I am very honoured to have the privilege of joining my distinguished colleagues in addressing this session.
What I will do this morning is to outline Singapore's perspectives on the war against terrorism. Where do we stand now?
What are the challenges ahead?
How can we organise ourselves effectively to cope with the global terrorist threat? First, let me stress that we must not underestimate the nature of militant Islamic terrorism.
The terrorism we face today is totally different in scope and nature from the terrorist threats faced by nations in previous years.
What confronts the world today is an unprecedented terrorist threat that is ideological in nature, protracted in duration, global in scope, sophisticated in method, and catastrophic in outcome.
The terrorism we face today is a force that has already killed thousands of innocents. It is a movement whose tactics and trajectories will constantly change, evolve and mutate.
To prevail, we need a comprehensive yet sustainable approach backed by clear thinking and longterm planning.
Since we met here last year, AI Qaeda-inspired terrorists have continued their attacks around the world. We have seen assaults in Riyadh, suicide attacks in Istanbul, and shootouts in Damascus, among others.
Closer to home, the car bombing at the Jakarta Marriott hotel last August again reinforced for us in Southeast :Asia how very close the dangers are,
Strategically, the most significant attack was the train bombings in Madrid this March.
We were appalled not only at the senseless massacre of 200 civilians, but also at how AI Qaeda appears now to use such attacks to create a strategic impact.
Bombing Madrid on the eve of the Spanish general elections was a calculated attempt to influence the results of the elections and to split Spain and Europe from America. The Madrid bombing is a new development with terrorists directly seeking, through their actions, to radically reshape the international geopolitical order. We cannot allow terrorists to make strategic gains.
Europe has rightly rejected Osama bin Laden's supposed offer of a truce.
It is important that we stand firm, as individual nations and as a global community, to face the terrorist threat head on.
What Madrid also demonstrated is that two and a half years after the September 11 th attacks, AI Qaeda still retains the capacity to mount large-scale operations. How is this possible when many of AI Qaeda's leaders have been arrested or killed? The reason is because AI-Qaeda can regenerate itself.
Key leaders may have been arrested or killed, but others emerge, and attacks continue. The structure and network, although impaired, has not been destroyed. The AI Qaeda brand of militant Islam has spawned a global movement, inspiring satellite and affiliate groups which operate independently. The ideology and motivation are there, with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the continuing fighting in Iraq serving as catalysts for rage, resentment and suicide bombers.
Most ominously, the strategic, global ambitions are still there to establish a pan Islamic caliphate. We are thus dealing with a long-term threat which shows no sign of waning.
The Need for a Sustainable Strategy
What, then, should our strategy be?
After the September 11th tragedy, countries around the world have hardened their defences against terrorism.
Singapore too has raised its baseline for security.
We have stepped up border controls, and strengthened aviation, maritime and land transport security. We have enhanced security for critical infrastructure and for key installations across the island.
We have also improved our emergency response capabilities, especially against nonconventional attacks. In short, we are much better prepared now to cope with a range of contingencies.
But the fight against terrorism cannot rest solely upon growing layers of protective or response measures within national borders. Yes, we will certainly continue to upgrade our defences. Yet it is impossible to guard every conceivable target.
And it is not practical to secure every location. To do so would exhaust finite national resources. Governments have broader priorities beyond security and defence,
We thus need a more sustainable approach which recognizes the realities of our security environment, but which also meets the demands of providing national security in the long-term. We need to focus as well on a policy of prevention that scans the horizon for emergent dangers, to anticipate and mitigate adverse consequences.
The Importance of Co-ordination
Let me outline two important components of this strategy.
First, a key approach that Singapore has adopted is co-ordination; bringing different security agencies together in a joint battle against terrorism, This is a simple yet powerful idea.
We recognize that the fight against the multi-dimensional threat of terrorism cannot be won by the efforts of any single agency alone.
Terrorism is a problem which cuts across traditional governmental divides. Co-ordination harnesses the capabilities of each organization.
Co-ordination maximizes the use of limited national resources, and integrates the work of otherwise separate units.
Singapore's energies in the coming years will be directed at ensuring that we put in place a robust and effective national security network.
But co-ordination must also mean like-minded nations working together in a united, cohesive effort against terrorism.
A particularly important aspect of such joint action is the sharing of good intelligence. Governments across the globe must continue to exchange critical intelligence concerning terrorist movements, tactics or personnel, ensuring that information gaps are eliminated or reduced.
For instance, our dismantling of the Jemaah Islamiyah plots in Singapore benefited from useful intelligence from friendly countries.
We have also shared our knowledge on the Jemaah Islamiyah with regional intelligence partners, leading to the arrests of JI fugitives Mas Selamat Kastari in Indonesia and Arifin Ali in Thailand.
On a broader level, countries must also intensify participation in other multilateral efforts, such as combating terrorism financing, working on counterproliferation initiatives and counter-terrorism training. No country can defeat terrorism by itself.
This is why Singapore places such a high premium on international action, whether under the auspices of the UN, ASEAN, or other multilateral organisations. That is why Singapore also supports the international coalition in the war on terror, including the reconstruction efforts in Iraq.
The Importance of Social Unity and Psychological Resilience
But we cannot win the fight through hard measures alone.
We need a soft approach as well.
This leads me to my second point.
The war on terror resembles the Cold War in many respects, with its ideological basis and geopolitical dimensions.
But there is one crucial difference - the role of religion in underpinning the current conflict.
The war against extremist Islamic terrorism must thus be fought not just with bullets on the battlefield, but also with ideas that moderate Muslims can espouse through the media, the mosques and the madrassahs. The particular concern we have in Singapore is how best to hold our multiracial society together, while rightly tackling extremists within minor segments of the Muslim community.
We have seen how fringe elements have exploited the headscarf debate in France to challenge the democraticallyelected, secular government.
We fear that terrorist elements can drive a wedge between Muslims in Singapore and the rest of society. They cannot be allowed to do so.
We place great importance on racial and religious harmony, and have thus introduced several measures to enhance inter-communal ties.
But fundamentally, the Muslim community itself, whether in Singapore or beyond, needs to fight the radical elements in their midst.
The government has explained that it does not regard the fight against terrorism as a contest of religions, but as an ideological battle within a religion. We encourage Singapore's Muslims, the vast majority of whom are moderate in thinking and modern in outlook, to speak up and denounce radical teachings and to guard against subversive preachers.
As non-Muslims, there is a limit to how much weight our voices will carry with the Muslim ground. But Muslim denunciations of terrorism will carry far greater resonance within the Islamic world.
It is important, therefore, that we support the efforts of moderate Muslims against those at the fringe. Ultimately, both Muslims and non-Muslims in Singapore are equally affected by terrorism. We face this threat as a nation.
Terrorists have demonstrated their lack of regard for all human life, regardless of religion.
So each of us will have to learn to live with terrorism, while not being paralysed by fears of it. This is where individual psychological resilience is so important, for this will determine how strongly we stand up against terrorism.
Terrorists may destroy lives and disrupt the economy, but they cannot be allowed to damage our collective sense as a free, independent people.
How we confront the challenges of AI Qaeda depends not only on how many defences we build, or how many plots we neutralize, but also on the strength and resilience of the nation and each individual in society.
Conclusion
Ladies and gentlemen, the global security environment is not without other concerns.
We follow closely the developments in the Middle East, the Korean Peninsula and the China-Taiwan straits. But it is terrorism, for now, which has potentially the greatest direct impact on Singapore's national security.
It is a problem we share with members of the international community.
We recognize that the campaign against terrorism will be one for the long haul. It is a fundamental struggle which will last many years, if not decades. There will be difficult moments ahead.
We will face setbacks and encounter obstacles, before we succeed.
We have to summon the collective will of nations around the world to defeat terrorism.
If we continue to stay the course in the fight against terrorism and do not flag in our commitment and determination, we will ultimately prevail and defeat this evil menace to humanity in the 21st Century.
