預算辯論 · 2016-04-07 · 屆國會 13

國防預算與安全挑戰

AI 安全與倫理 AI 與國家安全 AI 與公共部門 爭議度 3 · 實質辯論

議員質詢新加坡國防預算，強調國家安全環境複雜多變，包括恐怖主義威脅、南海爭端、朝鮮核威脅及海盜問題。政府回應強調新加坡武裝力量的建設成就及應對多元安全威脅的必要性。核心爭議點在於如何平衡有限資源與多重安全挑戰的防禦需求。

關鍵要點

  • • 恐怖主義持續威脅
  • • 南海局勢緊張
  • • 朝鮮核威脅升級
政府立場

加強軍力應對多重威脅

質詢立場

關注預算合理性與安全挑戰

政策訊號

強化國防科技與人才培養

“The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) is now one of the most respected armed forces in the region.”

參與人員 (20)

完整譯文（中文）

Hansard 原始記錄 · 2026-05-02

安全環境

維克拉姆·奈爾議員（實龍崗）：主席女士，我請求動議，“將預算中J項的總撥款減少100元。”

1971年，當英國武裝部隊從新加坡撤離時，這標誌著英國對新加坡防務長達約150年的監督結束。

歷史上首次，新加坡突然需要自行負責國防。當時面臨許多挑戰。我們剛獨立六年，仍在作為一個國家站穩腳跟。英國軍隊的撤離也帶來了嚴重的經濟影響。亞洲與世界其他地區一樣，被冷戰衝突和緊張局勢分割，越南和朝鮮戰爭仍在進行。鄰近地區，康弗朗塔西（對抗局勢）仍歷歷在目，國內還有共產主義和種族騷亂的陰影。

對於一個小國來說，挑戰在於如果遭到大國侵略，仍需有能力自衛。因此，新加坡一直必須建設武裝力量，預防可能來自更大侵略者的威脅。我們試圖通過實行國民服役和投資更先進技術來克服規模上的明顯劣勢。

新加坡武裝部隊（SAF）現已成為該地區最受尊敬的軍隊之一。我們的軍事領導人在國際任務中表現出色，武裝部隊在協助各國進行災難救援和人道主義工作方面贏得了良好聲譽。

然而，SAF的主要目的是應對安全威脅，我將強調幾個仍然令人擔憂的威脅。

首先是恐怖主義。恐怖主義的蔓延在本地區持續存在。我們瞭解到東南亞是伊拉克和敘利亞伊斯蘭國（ISIS）的重要招募地，ISIS在該地區建立了Katibah Nusantara戰鬥部隊，負責2016年雅加達襲擊事件。布魯塞爾和巴黎的恐怖襲擊是恐怖分子能力的嚴峻提醒。

第二，南中國海。儘管法律爭端解決程式正在推進，南中國海的緊張局勢仍在升級——事實上，可能正是對該程式的反應導致了緊張加劇。最新行動顯示中國在該地區填海造地，建設防禦設施和燈塔，而美國和澳大利亞繼續主張航行自由。菲律賓和越南則通過法律程式維護其主權聲索。

更令人擔憂的是朝鮮半島，朝鮮繼續進行核試驗，或許是我記憶中首次明確威脅發動核打擊。如果成真，這可能改變戰爭的面貌。

更近的馬六甲海峽仍有海盜事件。去年六月，八名持槍和砍刀的男子劫持了載有約6000噸價值超過500萬美元汽油的油輪Orkim Harmony，試圖將船駛向友好港口以抽取液體貨物。安全部隊發現後挫敗了他們的計劃，但他們乘救生艇逃脫。

主席女士，這些衝突有些看似遙遠，有些則更接近我們，但我相信所有這些都是我們必須考慮的重要因素。作為一個小而互聯的國家，新加坡很可能受到這些威脅的影響。我有興趣瞭解國防部（MINDEF）對我所述威脅的看法，以及他們認為新加坡當前面臨的最突出國家安全挑戰是什麼？

安全環境演變

扎基·穆罕默德議員（蔡厝港）：主席女士，今天的戰爭性質已經改變。威脅來自國家、組織和個人，他們試圖破壞我們的安全。混合戰爭的威脅也在出現，我們從克里米亞的經驗中學到，那裡曾有一場有組織的行動，通過經濟、社會心理以及網路戰削弱國家防禦，然後再進行軍事行動。

去年，黃永宏部長廣泛談論了混合戰爭，他將混合戰爭描述為全面防衛的對立面。混合戰爭結合了國家和非國家行為者的常規與非常規戰爭工具。正因為這些脅迫和侵略工具範圍廣泛，導致像新加坡這樣的國家可能難以識別攻擊源頭。

下午1時15分

此外，我們的世界日益互聯。過去傳統戰場主要侷限於空中、陸地和海洋領域，現代衝突已擴充套件到超越領土和地理邊界的其他領域。那麼，國防部觀察到哪些趨勢？我們是否在新加坡面臨此類威脅？近幾個月新加坡是否遭遇過此類威脅？具體有哪些？

顯然，軍事手段不足以應對混合戰爭威脅。那麼，政府如何在各個方面應對戰爭威脅？我們如何讓全面防衛的利益相關者參與進來？我們多年來對全面防衛已有深思熟慮，但鑑於其自創立以來的發展，我們如何將其提升到新水平？

恐怖主義

劉燕玲議員（蔡厝港）：主席女士，過去幾個月，沒有哪個地區未遭受恐怖襲擊。我們都關注了拉合爾、布魯塞爾、伊斯坦布林的襲擊新聞。但這些襲擊僅是近期發生的恐怖事件的一小部分。

事實上，經濟與和平研究所去年底釋出的年度全球恐怖主義指數報告評估，恐怖主義處於歷史最高水平，襲擊範圍和國家數量均創紀錄。該指數顯示，現今恐怖襲擊中死亡人數是2000年的九倍。

特別是關於ISIS，一些分析人士觀察到該組織戰略的轉變。《金融時報》近期文章指出，除了在伊拉克和敘利亞建立哈里發國外，ISIS正尋求在更遠地區鞏固其哈里發國，並向中東以外的敵人輸出恐怖。雅加達的襲擊和ISIS針對吉隆坡地點的新聞表明，ISIS的全球戰略包括打擊我們東南亞的家門口。

許多人仍前往伊拉克和敘利亞為ISIS作戰。但更令人擔憂的是，分析人士指出ISIS的戰術也在轉變。ISIS鼓勵支持者——其中一些人從未去過中東——在本地城市發動襲擊。沒有具體行動指令，孤狼和小型狼群受到ISIS號召的啟發採取行動。有些人獲得了能造成大規模傷亡的武器或爆炸物。這對新加坡來說顯然是一個令人警惕的趨勢。

在近期多城市襲擊後，軍隊與執法機構加強了應對措施。法國、比利時和馬來西亞等國部署了軍事巡邏。因此，我的問題是：國防部和新加坡武裝部隊在預防和應對恐怖襲擊中扮演什麼角色？

主席：維克拉姆·奈爾議員，您有兩項削減，請合併發言。

武裝部隊與國土安全

維克拉姆·奈爾議員：首先談國土安全。傳統上，武裝部隊專注於外部威脅準備，內務部隊則負責國土安全。迄今為止，內務部隊在保障新加坡安全方面表現出色，及時識別並逮捕關鍵人員，挫敗多起潛在恐怖威脅。

然而，若發生類似孟買或巴黎的大規模恐怖襲擊——我們希望新加坡永遠不會發生——但若襲擊規模巨大，襲擊者持槍械和炸彈，造成數百人死傷，可能需要軍隊介入，既打擊消滅襲擊者，也恢復公眾信心。

我認為軍隊在國土防衛中的角色應謹慎調整，部署軍隊會向公眾傳遞威脅嚴重的資訊。若用於小規模威脅，公眾可能誤解形勢而過度擔憂或恐慌。反之，在襲擊後已引發恐慌的情況下，軍隊介入可能有助於穩定局勢。

武裝部隊是否有計劃加強對國土安全的響應，以應對恐怖主義等威脅？

網路威脅

關於網路犯罪，最近有令人震驚的報道，駭客入侵了孟加拉國中央銀行在紐約聯邦儲備銀行的賬戶，盜取了約1.01億美元。美國網路取證專家Fire Eye調查發現，大部分資金被轉入海外賬戶，包括菲律賓和斯里蘭卡。

據悉，駭客最初試圖轉出超過10億美元，但美國聯邦儲備阻止了約8.5億美元的轉賬。斯里蘭卡已追蹤並歸還約2000萬美元，但轉入菲律賓的約8000萬美元仍未找到。

顯然，被轉出的金額驚人，顯示駭客能夠突破政府機構的能力。很明顯，國家也可能成為網路犯罪的受害者。更令人擔憂的是，駭客技術也被國家行為者利用，包括本應友好的國家。例如，德國總理安格拉·默克爾的電話被美國國家安全域性竊聽的訊息，曾引發外交緊張。但這可能只是國家支援的駭客行為的縮影，類似事件可能在其他地方也在發生。

鑑於網路威脅上升，國家行為者既可能是受害者，也可能是責任方，國防部是否有計劃發展能力以應對這一威脅？

網路安全

傅志堅議員（先鋒）：主席女士，我想補充維克拉姆·奈爾議員關於網路安全的發言。眾所周知，電子商務和通訊在新加坡日益重要，我們在工作、娛樂乃至許多活動中越來越依賴它們。特別是新加坡致力於成為智慧國，網路安全日益受到關注。

網路犯罪範圍廣泛，從高度複雜的犯罪集團到孤狼駭客，甚至是無法抗拒破解密碼或入侵計算機系統誘惑的年輕人。例如2014年Singpass被黑事件，一名男子破解了約300個使用者賬戶，並將個人資料出售給中國的犯罪團伙，目的是申請新加坡簽證。該男子通過猜測演算法破解使用者密碼。幸運的是，此事件未造成更大損害。若網路攻擊者是恐怖組織，後果可能更嚴重。

我想請問部長，各政府機構，尤其是國防部，如何與新成立的網路安全域性（CSA，隸屬於信息通信發展局IDA和通訊及新聞部MCI）協調合作，加強新加坡的網路安全？有哪些預防措施？若發生攻擊，尤其影響能源、水務和銀行等關鍵服務，我們如何應對？災難恢復和業務連續性計劃有哪些？

網路防禦

劉義強議員（阿裕尼）：主席女士，我注意到武裝部隊於2013年成立了集中式網路防禦行動中心。鑑於當今社會和軍事行動的網路中心化特徵，這類能力非常重要。我有三組問題請教國防部。

首先，請國防部向公眾保證武裝部隊在網路防禦方面的準備情況，並說明其應對的威脅型別。網路攻擊不僅限於傳統軍事行動，還可能涉及收集和破壞敏感資訊，癱瘓公共設施、通訊、金融系統、應急醫療、商業基礎設施甚至交通管理系統。這些行為會擾亂社會，使其易受壓力影響。國防部的網路防禦如何應對這些問題？

其次，國防部計劃發展哪些新能力？如何確保新加坡得到充分保護？此外，網路防禦能力可能引發鄰國的猜疑和緊張，最終可能降低國家安全。國防部如何計劃在發展網路防禦能力時減輕此類風險？

最後，網路防禦工具強大且難以檢測。國防部如何確保對其系統有足夠監督，防止其他個人或政府機構不當使用？國防部能否向公眾保證，例如通過釋出年度報告或審計，披露網路風險、違規事件及緩解措施？

防務外交

維克拉姆·奈爾議員：主席女士，防務外交是新加坡防務戰略的重要組成部分。雖然外交部負責國家間的官方外交關係，我們的武裝部隊也在與其他國家軍方建立關係方面發揮了重要作用。

這些關係幫助我們獲得海外訓練場地，與外國軍隊聯合訓練的機會，更重要的是與外國軍方建立良好關係，以便在需要時擁有盟友。

在這方面，區域內兩大主要大國是美國和中國，兩國在地區安全與穩定中扮演重要角色。我很高興得知新加坡已與美國簽署防務合作協議，並與中國達成四點共識，促進雙方關係深化。國防部能否介紹過去一年與美中兩國的防務關係最新情況？

主席：馬業成議員，您有三項削減，請合併發言。

雙邊防務關係

馬業成議員（淡濱尼）：主席女士，作為被更大國家包圍的小紅點，新加坡的安全與鄰國關係密不可分。

因此，新加坡與馬來西亞、印度尼西亞及汶萊保持長期防務關係是非常合理的。眾所周知，國防部和武裝部隊高階官員定期與對方會面，武裝部隊也進行定期雙邊演習、高層訪問和專業交流。

隨著領導層變動、地緣政治形勢發展，以及區域和國際安全環境演變，我們的關係如何與時俱進，適應不同優先事項？

我還想請國防部介紹與鄰國的雙邊防務關係現狀。近期有哪些交流活動？這些如何促進新加坡利益？

與澳大利亞的防務關係

2015年6月，李顯龍總理與時任澳大利亞總理託尼·阿博特簽署了新加坡-澳大利亞全面戰略伙伴關係（CSP）。根據CSP，兩國旨在通過名為2025計劃的路線圖，在貿易經濟、外交、防務安全和人文交流四個領域深化合作。

在防務安全方面，CSP將建立在新加坡與澳大利亞國防機構之間的堅實關係基礎上。兩國均為五國防務安排成員，武裝部隊曾在中東並肩作戰。澳大利亞目前承辦新加坡陸軍和空軍的軍事訓練。

在簽署CSP時，李總理宣佈新加坡和澳大利亞計劃於2016年簽署防務合作協議。那麼，CSP對防務有何影響？國防部如何推動與澳大利亞的防務關係？

多邊論壇

主席女士，東盟防長會議（ADMM）首次會議於2006年5月舉行，設立為東盟最高防務協商與合作機制。四年後，ADMM-Plus成立，作為東盟成員國與八個對話夥伴（澳大利亞、中國、印度、日本、紐西蘭、韓國、俄羅斯和美國）之間實務合作的平臺，迄今已召開兩次會議。

我想問國防部，能否分享為何通過這些多邊平臺與其他國家的國防機構和軍隊進行接觸。通過這些多邊論壇取得了哪些成果，目前正在探索哪些新的務實合作領域？隨著東盟共同體2015的實現，東盟將如何將區域防務合作提升到新的高度？

下午1時30分

主席女士，我瞭解到東盟防長會議（ADMM）下的合作領域之一是災難救援和人道主義援助，以便在災難發生時能夠更團結、更有效地響應。在這方面，國防部能否分享東盟成員國如何在最近的區域災害中合作，比如沙巴地震？

當前的區域安全格局還面臨非傳統安全挑戰，如海上安全以及極端組織和激進團體所犯下的暴力和殘暴行為的上升。多邊論壇如何幫助新加坡更好地應對這些新挑戰？

新加坡武裝部隊的國防開支策略

蔡依娜議員（巴西立-榜鵝）：主席女士，日益複雜和動盪的安全環境促使本地區的國防開支增加。同樣，新加坡也需要確保我們仍然具備應對這些威脅的能力和準備。

作為一個自豪的國家，我們絕不容忍對主權的威脅，也絕不允許安全受到妥協。基於此，我想問部長，新加坡武裝部隊的國防開支策略是否有所改變？是否有計劃以更快的速度增加國防開支？我們在國防開支中關注的新領域有哪些？

國防白皮書

畢達姆·辛格議員（亞逸拉惹）：主席女士，多年來，亞太地區釋出國防白皮書已成為一種日益普遍的現象。中國於1998年釋出了首份國防白皮書，日本則在2005年釋出。當向公眾介紹當前安全環境、軍事戰略方向及核心使命時，這類白皮書有效地解釋了為何需要一支強大且堅定的軍隊來捍衛國家主權。

然而，有時人們不太理解的是，這些白皮書在增進和建立國家間信心與信任方面的影響。事實上，在2016年澳大利亞最新國防白皮書釋出之前，澳大利亞曾向中國和印度尼西亞——兩個關鍵夥伴——通報其意圖。今年新加坡拉惹勒南國際研究院（RSIS）的一篇評論指出，澳大利亞2016年白皮書向東南亞發出了強烈的積極訊號，可能有助於該地區的穩定與和平。

十多年前，東盟地區論壇建議釋出並交換國防白皮書。值得注意的是，前國防部長李文陽先生在1995年曾在本院逐字引用澳大利亞國防白皮書的部分內容，以此體現兩國良好關係。我認為，通過白皮書更廣泛地釋出此類舉措，將有利於國防部在國內外的利益。

作為國家預算最大消費者的國防部，始終會被質疑其國防開支的性質和規模。這種質疑只會增加，未來幾年不會減少。事實上，值得注意的是，國防部在2016財年政府開支控制檔案中僅佔八頁，而法務部這一預算遠小得多的部門則有超過40頁。

國防部發布未來白皮書無需透露任何機密資訊。但目前的狀況過於不透明，尤其是在SG50之後的經濟環境中，應以更大的財政審慎應對多項國家優先事項，這些事項都同樣值得重視。白皮書將有助於從一方面闡明國防部的使命和需求，另一方面說明其預算需求，並置於小國需求的背景下加以考量。

最後，主席女士，幾年前，臺灣甚至釋出了白皮書的漫畫版，以培養年輕讀者對軍事服役的興趣。我並非建議我們也這樣做，但這說明白皮書為國防部提供了極大的靈活性，決定如何最好地傳達其資訊。日本的白皮書經驗頗具啟示性，從2015年的簡略版發展到去年的更全面版本。國防部的白皮書甚至可以用來展示國防部對安全制度的重視，這也是我下一輪發言將談及的內容。

安全形勢與新加坡武裝部隊的角色

副教授法蒂瑪·拉蒂夫（海洋坊）：女士，我們生活在一個相互關聯的世界，面臨恐怖主義、安全威脅、網路攻擊、技術戰爭及許多其他不良活動的問題。幾乎每個月都會有爆炸、戰爭、爭端發生，影響許多無辜公民。這些都是包括新加坡在內的國家的重大關切。全球各國軍隊都處於高度戒備狀態。

國防部如何確保我們的武裝部隊保持相關性並適應不斷變化的安全環境和形勢，在這些挑戰的背景下？作為一個小國擁有一支小型軍隊，我們準備好應對這些威脅了嗎？我們的人員還能發揮哪些其他作用以提升威懾水平？

主席：陳潔儀女士，請將您的兩段發言合併。

新加坡武裝部隊現狀及其能力

陳潔儀女士（東海岸）：女士，隨著財富增長，採購最新技術和能力並不能為我們帶來可持續優勢。新加坡武裝部隊以擁有尖端能力為榮。雖然武裝部隊確實從海外採購裝備和平臺，但也通過對人員、設施、技術及複雜防務系統的研發投資，建設新加坡本地的國防科技能力。

我們擁有哪些本地國防技術能力？這些能力如何助力武裝部隊的技術優勢和本土科技能力？鑑於國家層面對工程人才的競爭需求，國防部採取了哪些措施確保持續擁有所需的工程人才和能力，以發展我們的本土國防科技能力？

海外訓練

我們看到本地區及全球的安全關切日益加劇。面對更大的不確定性和更廣泛的威脅，包括常規威脅及非對稱威脅，如恐怖主義和網路戰爭，武裝部隊如何確保防務力量的作戰準備？武裝部隊定期在海外進行訓練的作戰價值何在？這些訓練如何確保我們的部隊確實做好準備？

在美國、澳大利亞、德國、法國和紐西蘭等國進行的海外演習的目標是什麼？這些國家在氣候、地形和植被等方面與我們本地及區域條件有很大不同。此類海外訓練演習對國民兵士兵及運營成本均有影響。武裝部隊如何確保社會繼續支援這一國防承諾？

參與此類海外演習，我們計程車兵需要離開家庭和工作崗位。雖然我們需要實現訓練效果，武裝部隊如何平衡對工作、家庭及國民兵士兵機會的影響？面對變革的節奏、持續學習和技能提升的需求，武裝部隊如何支援國民兵士兵應對這些與海外訓練和作戰需求之間的競爭壓力？

武裝部隊在非戰爭軍事行動（MOOTW）中的角色

傅志堅議員：主席女士，我的發言涉及武裝部隊在非戰爭軍事行動中的角色。正如各位議員所知，武裝部隊成立於1965年，是新加坡獨立的必然產物，主要職責是保障新加坡的外部防禦。

如今，我們的第三代武裝部隊以裝備精良著稱，能夠抵禦外部威脅。武裝部隊被廣泛尊重為一支強大且專業的軍隊。它保障新加坡的主權，使所有新加坡人能夠安居樂業，安心知道新加坡受到良好保護。

然而，新加坡面臨的威脅已超越傳統戰爭，擴充套件到反恐、海盜及人道主義援助和災難救援（HADR）等領域。儘管武裝部隊參與了許多非戰爭軍事行動，我認為現役國民服役兵和預備役軍人的訓練大綱仍主要基於傳統武裝衝突。

因此，我希望部長幫助我們瞭解武裝部隊如何準備應對我所描述的新挑戰。武裝部隊在情報、技術和裝備方面準備得如何，以應對反恐？此外，武裝部隊是否會被召集協助內務部隊進行反恐行動，超出目前保護關鍵設施的職責？

2015年，新加坡協助了多項任務，如泰國清邁和蘇門答臘的森林火災撲救，以及尼泊爾地震後的搜救行動。許多新加坡人以參與這些人道援助和災難救援行動的武裝部隊及內務部隊人員為榮。鑑於災難時有發生，無論是在本地還是海外，我想問部長，武裝部隊是否有足夠訓練有素的人員，能夠在區域或全球重大災難發生時部署？

武裝部隊轉型

蔡依娜議員：女士，每位新加坡人都知道我們不能把安全視為理所當然。當前局勢日益動盪，新威脅的訊息似乎越來越接近家門口。可以理解，這會讓公民感到擔憂。今天的威脅往往不會提前顯現，等到出現時，我們已見過其他國家往往為時已晚。

雖然武裝部隊可能已準備好應對當前威脅，但這些威脅——如同其他事物一樣——將持續演變。我們的國防策略不是僅僅跟上，而是確保我們始終領先一步甚至多步。這帶來雙重好處：威懾潛在敵人，同時確保我們能夠迅速果斷地應對任何威脅。

我想問部長，武裝部隊如何發展能力以保護新加坡免受未來威脅？國防部能否提供武裝部隊轉型計劃的最新情況？

隨著威脅演變，我們的防務能力也應隨之發展。失敗的後果極其嚴重，我們不能對此掉以輕心。

武裝部隊的人力和能力

副教授法蒂瑪·拉蒂夫：女士，通常一個國家的軍隊需要達到一定的關鍵或最低規模。新加坡的人口更替率極低，每年出生的嬰兒數量減少。這也意味著每屆徵兵人數減少。武裝部隊如何在這些“縮減”的人力數字下維持能力和規模？我們如何確保最大化他們的潛力？

多年來，我們還戰略性地發展了第四代武裝部隊（4G-SAF）和專業技能。技術能力和提升也非常活躍。這些對技術和資訊科技的投資能否幫助我們應對和彌補人力減少的問題？

國防部長（黃永宏博士）：主席女士，首先感謝多位議員指出新加坡當前面臨的安全挑戰。我認為他們表達得很有力，提出了許多有效且準確的觀察。總體而言，他們傳達了這樣一個事實：儘管我們都希望和平，努力促進國家間更大的合作與理解，但無論是世界還是我們所處的地區都不是烏托邦；每一代新加坡人都會面臨威脅，每一代都必須更新保護所珍視之物的承諾，否則將失去它；我們只能依靠自己保衛新加坡；我們需要與志同道合的夥伴合作，處理潛在的麻煩。新加坡和新加坡人必須為SG50之後這個新時代的“動盪和平”做好準備。

每一代新加坡人都必須面對自己的安全威脅。正如維克拉姆·奈爾議員指出，開國一代經歷了不易的時期。確實，正如他所說，20世紀60至70年代是亞洲，尤其是東南亞的動盪時期。無論是對抗印尼的對抗政策（Konfrontasi），還是意識形態上的反共和反宗派鬥爭，這些衝突常常導致暴力或顛覆。由於東南亞國家在60至70年代剛剛獨立，剛擺脫殖民統治，個別國家更關注自身國家議程，而非區域合作。

下午1時45分

如今地緣政治有所改善，我們談到了東盟。東盟已成為國際動態中公認的區域共同體，擁有良好的增長和與其他國家的強勁關係。但正如議員們所說，挑戰依然存在。副教授法蒂瑪·拉蒂夫指出，我們生活在一個相互關聯的世界。確實，許多議員提到，世界其他地區發生的事件雖然遠在天邊，但正如蔡依娜議員所說，越來越接近家門口，無論是恐怖主義還是技術戰爭。正如維克拉姆·奈爾議員指出，最近南海局勢多變，恐怖襲擊頻發，還有涉及美國聯邦儲備銀行的複雜網路攻擊。

議員們提出了關鍵問題——維克拉姆·奈爾議員、畢達姆·辛格議員、扎基·穆罕默德議員、劉謙祥議員、副教授法蒂瑪·拉蒂夫、劉燕玲女士、傅志堅議員和蔡依娜議員。總結來說，他們問：新加坡面臨的主要安全威脅是什麼？與往年相比有多大？武裝部隊如何應對這些威脅？我們如何保障新加坡和新加坡人的安全？我們準備得如何？這些都是可能深刻改變我們生活的重要問題。我完全同意蔡依娜議員所說，失敗的後果將是嚴重的。因此，我打算在本次撥款委員會答覆中回答這些問題。

首先是恐怖主義。當前對我們的明確且迫切的威脅是恐怖主義。目前沒有具體情報顯示針對新加坡的迫在眉睫的陰謀，但我們的情報機構普遍評估幾乎所有城市都是潛在目標，包括新加坡。議員們已經知道過去18個月內其他城市發生的襲擊——巴黎、悉尼、聖貝納迪諾、伊斯坦布林、曼谷、雅加達、布魯塞爾，最近還有拉合爾。幾個月後，你可能還要在名單上新增更多城市。新加坡面臨的ISIS威脅等級高於基地組織（AQ）和伊斯蘭祈禱團（JI）活躍時期的威脅等級。如果你想要一個簡單的數字，基地組織在過去10年吸引的同情者和行動者數量，ISIS在過去三年已超過該數字。因此，我們評估ISIS的威脅高於基地組織和伊斯蘭祈禱團。讓我解釋我們做出這一評估的原因。

首先，ISIS擁有更強的手段。ISIS控制著伊拉克和敘利亞的領土和油田，從中獲得資源，資助數萬名戰士並推進其目標。ISIS甚至像軍隊一樣使用無人機執行任務。事實上，他們就是一支軍隊。他們能夠遠端策劃和協調襲擊，正如他們在巴黎、布魯塞爾甚至我們附近的雅加達所做的那樣。他們的觸角可以伸得很遠。本週，馬來西亞警方透露，ISIS向維克拉姆·奈爾議員提到的“卡蒂巴·努桑塔拉”分配了約10萬新元資金。該組織是馬來群島作戰單位，ISIS向其提供資金以資助東南亞的恐怖襲擊和爆炸事件。

正如一些議員觀察到的，ISIS的行動者和同情者已在我們地區形成網路。過去一年，近千名東南亞人前往伊拉克和敘利亞參戰，其中包括新加坡人。還有更多人未出國便被激進化。最近，大家可能已讀到四名新加坡人被阻止前往中東參加武裝衝突。正如議員們指出，歸國戰士將帶回極端主義意識形態，分享武器、爆炸物和實戰經驗。此外，我們知道他們已與現有的細胞組織聯絡，如伊斯蘭祈禱團的分支“安沙魯特·陶希德”和阿布沙耶夫。正如我所說，ISIS擁有更強的手段。

第二，ISIS有動機。在我們地區，ISIS宣稱其使命是建立一個“省”（wilayat），即“哈里發國”，而Katibah Nusantara正領導這場運動。東南亞“哈里發國”的核心意識形態將已經在蘇拉威西、亞齊和菲律賓南部建立訓練營的伊斯蘭激進分子聯絡在一起。甚至維吾爾人也被知曉加入了由印尼激進分子Santoso領導的蘇拉威西訓練營。我不確定此前印尼激進分子與維吾爾人之間的聯絡有多麼脆弱，但在這裡，你可以看到——這種意識形態將他們綁在一起。

在這種敘述中，新加坡是一個有吸引力的目標。去年，Dabiq——“Dabiq”是ISIS出版的英文通訊——將新加坡列為“伊斯蘭國的敵人”之一，並呼籲追隨者對我們發動聖戰。

第三，ISIS有機會。每一個購物中心、每一個擁擠的地方都是暴力極端分子針對無辜平民、製造儘可能多的痛苦和混亂的機會。ISIS的行動者和同情者，尤其是我們稱之為“清白皮膚”的人——即無犯罪記錄者——可以旅行並走私武器和爆炸物的部件。樟宜機場去年接待了超過5500萬名乘客，還有更多人通過新加坡的陸路和海路檢查站。內政部（MHA）已加強安檢，但恐怖分子只需成功一次。

在這種情況下，新加坡——或者說任何城市——能否向居民保證不會發生極端分子襲擊？我認為答案顯而易見。只有愚蠢和自滿的政府才會提供這種虛假的安全感。相反，我們必須加強防禦，增強公民的信心，更重要的是，正視這一威脅，並準備共同應對後果。

我將詳細說明新加坡武裝部隊（SAF）將如何應對。但即使我們要求新加坡人準備應對極端主義威脅，我也要說，我們必須同時關注周邊國家間關係的軌跡。正如議員們指出的，南中國海和東中國海的爭端正在加劇。這是戰略競爭和民族主義上升這一更強大動態的表現。這種不同於二戰後、不同於冷戰時期的動盪狀態正在製造緊張局勢。這種動態將考驗現有的軍事合作和聯盟；它將考驗國際協議或法律，甚至聯合國海洋法公約（UNCLOS）。讓我舉幾個例子說明我的意思。

日本戰鬥機經常緊急起飛，應對進入日本防空識別區（ADIZ）的中國人民解放軍（PLA）軍機。解放軍飛機飛入釣魚島/尖閣諸島周邊有爭議的空域。因此，日本必須做出反應，緊急起飛。這是常見現象。

再舉第二個例子。南中國海主權聲索中最大重疊部分是越南專屬經濟區（EEZ）與中國的“九段線”。大家還記得兩年前，越南和中國船隻因南海一座石油鑽井平臺發生衝突。你們也會記得，越南爆發抗議，焚燒外資工廠，目標是中國擁有的工廠。不幸的是，一些臺灣工廠也被燒燬了。他們無法區分，聽到講普通話，就被燒燬了。最近，越南海警扣押了一艘涉嫌在越南水域作業的中國油輪。還有一個前所未有的事件——如果你們沒注意到——日本潛艇上個月首次抵達越南的金蘭灣國際港。

再舉一個更近的例子：印尼政府對其專屬經濟區內的非法捕魚採取了強硬立場。自2014年佐科·維多多總統上任以來，印尼已沒收並銷燬約150艘外國漁船。就在上個月，中印海警與印尼巡邏船發生對峙。印尼隨後宣佈計劃向納土納群島部署戰鬥機。據稱，為顯示實力，印尼國防軍（TNI）的軍艦被用來炸燬這些商船。雖然這不是最具成本效益的解決方案，軍用彈藥成本更高，但作為實力展示，他們會用TNI炸燬這些船隻。

正如我們觀察到的，這些事件發生的頻率越來越高。我們必須記住，這些事件發生在亞洲歷史上最高的軍事開支背景下。事實上，自2012年以來，亞洲在國防上的總支出已超過歐洲，按絕對美元計算。民族主義上升和經濟改善促使許多亞洲國家投入越來越多資金現代化軍隊。這本身無可厚非。但軍力增強後，誤判或失誤可能引發嚴重緊張甚至武裝衝突。

觀察周邊安全挑戰，這種動盪的和平狀態重申了我們穩健和審慎的國防開支政策。Zainal Sapari議員和副教授Fatimah Lateef都提到了這個問題。我感謝這裡所有政黨的議員——包括非選區議員（NCMP）——多年來對國防預算的堅定支援。議員們共同明智地沒有把短暫的和平視為理所當然。正如一些議員指出的，新加坡本也可以走歐洲國家的道路，享受“和平紅利”，因為共產主義威脅減弱，東盟也在進步。但如果我們因此自滿，國防能力投資不足，就像芬蘭或波羅的海國家一樣，我們現在會後悔並急於追趕。但我們避免了國防開支的劇烈波動，保持了強大的武裝部隊。

未來十年對新加坡不會輕鬆。事實上，我相信未來幾十年將是新加坡自獨立以來面臨的最大挑戰。我們從未遇到生產要素減少而需求增加的情況。即使在1960和1970年代，需求增加時，我們也享受了人口紅利。但到2030年，我們將有近一百萬人超過65歲，勞動力減少，社會開支需要增加。

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即使人口老齡化和社會開支增加，我們也必須保持穩定的國防開支，因為這是最有效地延伸每一國防資金的方式。它使我們能夠進行長期規劃，避免因開支波動帶來的破壞性變化。正如Sapari議員指出的，其他國家也發現，突然醒悟“哦，我需要更強的國防，因為威脅加劇了”，然後迅速建立強大國防，是為時已晚，收效甚微。

本人民行動黨政府將繼續明智投資，審慎支出國防。國防部（MINDEF）只購買武裝部隊（SAF）需要的裝備，且經過嚴格評估程式。我們不會盲目採購昂貴或高度複雜的裝備。我們採用最具成本效益的方案，明確考慮需求。首選是升級現有平臺，例如F-16戰機，我們將對其進行升級。只有當新加坡需要保持防禦優勢時，才購買新裝備。

一些議員問我如何看待未來的國防開支。過去十年，我們的國防開支大致跟上通脹，名義上每年增長約4%。我預計長期保持這一趨勢，但我們必須關注通脹，觀察是否出現通縮或通脹放緩。有時這些變化不會迅速反映在我們購買的裝備上，因此我們必須觀察。

這種動盪的和平時代被誇大了嗎？有人這麼說，也有人質疑：我們真的需要那樣的國防嗎？美國作為世界上最富有的民主國家，擁有最大和最強的軍隊，或許可以採取這種態度，承擔後果。但對新加坡來說，一個位於極端主義威脅、民族主義上升和戰略競爭區域中心的小紅點，我們應防範最壞情況，提前準備。

事實上，一些學者甚至世界領導人認為，“戰爭”的面貌已經改變，且已降臨。與過去戰爭在特定地區進行不同，今天的衝突越來越無國界，波浪式發生。針對極端主義，先是基地組織（AQ）和9/11事件，雖被削弱，但現在是ISIS。如果ISIS被擊敗，我相信另一個組織會崛起取代它。它可能不在伊拉克或敘利亞，但有許多失敗國家，極端組織可以在那裡獲得地理立足點並獲取資源，無論是利比亞還是其他國家。

在網路攻擊和生物大流行中，零點可以是任何地方。我們曾擔憂印尼的禽流感；嚴重急性呼吸綜合症（SARS）發生在世界某些地區；寨卡病毒在某些國家爆發；這些都可能在任何地方出現並迅速傳播。根據這種新敘述，這種動盪的和平是我們全球化世界的新常態。

Zaqy Mohamad議員談到了正在進行的混合戰爭。確實，它是全民防衛的對立面。如果你想想，三十多年前推出全民防衛的那一代人是先見之明且非常聰明的，因為混合戰爭是一場有組織的運動，旨在削弱和分裂目標國家的團結。這不是笑話，因為它正在被實踐。

根據這一理論，侵略者針對特定國家或國家群體，進行長期運動，破壞其民事、經濟、社會、心理和軍事防禦。這相當於我們的全民防衛。例如，ISIS巧妙地運用混合戰爭，利用社交媒體以複雜方式針對年輕和無辜者。甚至看似無害的網路遊戲也被用來讓年輕人認同其理念，令人震驚的斬首和焚燒人質的宣傳影片在網路上瘋傳，吸引更多同情者。

議員們談到了網路攻擊。網路攻擊是混合戰爭的組成部分。去年12月，身份不明的駭客攻擊了烏克蘭電網，導致該國大部分地區停電數小時。想象一下，如果我們的電網癱瘓，交通訊號燈失靈，發電站故障——國家很容易被癱瘓。

因此，對手可以癱瘓目標國家的關鍵作業系統，竊取國家和人民的機密，侵入人民的心智，而無需踏足其土地。新加坡特別容易受到混合威脅，因為我們是開放經濟體，與世界緊密相連。

這裡的議員們問SAF應如何應對這種動盪和平的新常態。我很高興地說，國防部和SAF的領導層十多年前就預見到了這些廣泛挑戰。正如Cedric Foo議員指出的，之前的SAF結構無法果斷應對更廣泛的威脅，因為之前的SAF結構主要集中在陸軍的聯合兵種，配備有稱職的空軍和海軍。它們不足以應對非傳統安全挑戰——自然災害或混合威脅，如網路攻擊或恐怖主義。但正如議員們指出的，今天的威脅範圍持續擴大和演變，SAF必須適應。讓我分享SAF為果斷應對所做的工作。

主席女士，允許我在螢幕上展示一張資訊圖，說明SAF如何加強反恐準備。

主席：好的，請。 [ 向尊敬的議員們展示了幻燈片。 ]

自9/11以來，SAF成立了多個任務部隊應對和平時期的威脅。這些任務部隊處於高度戒備狀態，人員齊備，能夠在幾乎沒有預警的情況下迅速響應。讓我詳細介紹這些任務部隊。特種作戰任務部隊（SOTF）由突擊隊、海軍潛水隊及三軍各單位組成，是SAF反恐和其他應急行動的第一響應者。還有一個負責國土安全的任務部隊，稱為島嶼防禦任務部隊，已投入運作。換言之，它由現役和國民服役人員保護關鍵設施，保障國土安全。如果你去過樟宜機場、裕廊島或三巴旺碼頭，你會見到他們。他們定期與內務部隊聯合巡邏，因應真實威脅，他們配備武器並有明確交戰規則。

海上，海事安全任務部隊保護我們的水道，防空任務部隊嚴密監視我們的天空。2008年孟買襲擊後，我們的應對計劃再次加強，強化與內務部隊及其他政府機構的聯絡。

我們已評估恐怖主義威脅上升。未來幾個月，SAF將加倍努力，提升反恐能力。首先，研究巴黎、雅加達和布魯塞爾事件，SAF將增強事件響應能力。SOTF必須具備更快響應能力，並有能力消滅武裝襲擊者，除了救援人質。

一些議員問：我們能用技術嗎？確實，我們必須用。SAF正與國防工程師和科學家合作，為特種部隊配備更好的戰術感測器，如微型無人機（UAV），可能小到能放在手掌，適合城市地形。我們將繼續開發新技術和工具，賦予SAF反恐優勢。

在這方面，與內務部隊緊密無縫合作至關重要，才能發揮我們安全能力的全部力量。SAF正密切合作，分享情報，開發聯合作戰指揮系統。我們進行更多聯合演習。去年，舉行了“高峰演習”，驗證政府整體應對同時發生的海上安全威脅。在演習中，新加坡警察部隊（SPF）、內務部隊、SAF、新加坡民防部隊（SCDF）、移民與關卡局（ICA）和海事及港務局（MPA）協同作戰，攔截恐怖分子快艇，突襲被劫持的商船，並處理後續情況。

第二，更多SAF單位將接受訓練，承擔更廣泛的安全任務。我們不假設襲擊只由單獨行動者或小團體實施——如Low Yen Ling女士所說，類似雅加達事件。我們必須能應對有組織的襲擊，如巴黎和布魯塞爾事件，機場、地鐵站、購物中心和市鎮中心同時成為目標。為應對這些情景，更多SAF單位將接受訓練，在人口密集區執行威懾巡邏。這些單位將配備更好的裝備。例如，我們去年投入使用了“守護者防護反應車”（PRV），為應急人員提供更高機動性、防護和更精準火力，以果斷應對威脅。

如何訓練？這是一些議員，包括Cedric Foo先生提出的問題。我同意議員們的看法，為使SAF士兵勝任這類任務，我們必須繼續投資建設新的、逼真的訓練設施。SAF決定建造一座新的高密度城市訓練設施，具備高層建築、模擬交通樞紐和複雜道路網路等特徵，為反恐及傳統城市作戰提供高度逼真的訓練場地。

但正如一些議員正確指出的，除了我們本土的應對，我們還需解決威脅源頭。只有當威脅源頭和招募被削弱或根除，情況才會改善。對基地組織（AQ）也是如此。如果我們不削弱或消除AQ的能力，更多像JI的細胞會滋生。這就是為什麼新加坡自2007年以來參與多國反恐行動，最初針對阿富汗的AQ，現在針對ISIS。

去年，SAF派遣KC-135R空中加油機支援空中加油行動，並派遣影像分析小組（IAT）。該小組負責監控疑似恐怖設施和活動，協助聯盟夥伴破壞恐怖網路的供應鏈。那裡的指揮官稱讚我們的努力，並要求SAF繼續派遣IAT，我們今年已延長部署一年。

即使新加坡武裝部隊（SAF）正為動盪的和平時期和當前的恐怖主義威脅做準備，SAF仍將持續以高強度節奏進行逼真的演習，以保持強大的威懾力。議員們，如陳潔瑩女士，曾詢問這些演習是否重要。我告訴議員們，它們非常重要，因為這是我們驗證能力的地方。新加坡的訓練空間不大。我的Terrex裝甲車時速可達70至90公里。若以此速度進行訓練演習，可能15分鐘就結束了。

我們需要大空間，因為我們有許多平臺、許多不同單位協同作戰，來檢驗“這是否可行？我們能否溝通？能否擊中移動目標？能否協調配合？速度如何？能否從錯誤中學習？”

因此，我們需要像美國的“鍛造利劍”演習、澳大利亞的“袋鼠”演習和泰國的“老虎應對”演習那樣的場地，不僅驗證我們的系統，也通過聯合演習來標杆自身能力，並向他人展示我們的實力。因為當SAF能在演習中表現出色時，別人會認真對待我們。

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我們將繼續這些演習，並確保考慮到國民服役者（NSmen）的承諾。即使是已經參加過演習的國民服役者，當我與他們交流時，他們感到很有動力，覺得“哦，我做了些事情，我能在這裡機動”。我記得曾訪問過一些Bionix裝甲車上計程車兵，他們說，“這裡我能機動很多，而在新加坡，空間很侷促”。

最近，SAF第四次接管了聯合特遣部隊151的指揮，參與反海盜行動。有議員指出，海盜活動不僅發生在馬六甲海峽，也發生在南中國海。我們認為應幫助遏制世界任何地區的海盜活動，因此我們派遣部隊到亞丁灣。

正如議員們指出的，我們可能會被召集參與人道援助和災難救援（HADR）任務及維和行動，如尼泊爾地震、清邁和巴淡的森林火災，我們將為此進行訓練——這是傅志偉先生關心的問題。我們不僅關注訓練，也建立相關架構，這就是為何我們在樟宜成立了區域HADR協調中心。

有些議員詢問了人力資源減少的問題以及我們如何應對。我認為副教授法蒂瑪·拉蒂夫提到了人口趨勢，陳潔瑩女士問到如何繼續利用科技保持SAF的優勢。我同意議員們的看法，科技是關鍵工具，沒有它我們無法倍增努力。

陳潔瑩女士問如何繼續爭取國防工程獎學金生。首先，我們會競爭。我想要我的不公平份額，SAF也想要它的不公平份額。我們將推出新的SAF工程獎學金，吸引有興趣並承諾加入SAF擔任軍事工程師的優秀青年。與SAF獎學金獲得者一樣，獲得此獎學金者可提前出國讀大學，歸國後將其專業技能和知識應用於SAF軍事工程領域。這很重要，因為他們將成為我們工程兵團的下一代領導者，確保我們在國防技術上保持優勢。

有些議員——普里坦·辛格先生和扎伊納爾·薩帕裡先生——詢問了硬體問題。我們將以可持續的節奏持續更新和升級平臺。這是代替白皮書的做法。我們的SAF規模不大，白皮書中不會比我在此告訴議員們的內容多太多。所以，如果議員們看到樟宜海軍基地、雙溪格東和空軍基地的設施，就能瞭解情況。

我們主要組建SAF是為了威懾，大家都理解這一點。我們也與其他國家交朋友。我們不像澳大利亞，我認為澳大利亞需要不時釋出白皮書，正如普里坦·辛格先生所說，以向他人展示。對新加坡和SAF來說，我們與所有人交朋友，我們的防務純粹是為了威懾。

海軍正在採購八艘多功能近岸任務艦（LMV），以替換服役已久的巡邏艦。首艘LMV“獨立號”於去年7月下水，預計明年初投入使用。我們有兩艘新的218SG型潛艇。我告訴議員們，研發進展順利。它們將替換老化的挑戰者級潛艇，預計2020年服役。

今年，陸軍還將推出新型受保護戰鬥支援車輛，為支援部隊提供更好的防護和機動性。空軍方面，我們的超級美洲獅和部分奇努克直升機老化，需要更換。我們正在完成評估，預計很快會有新型直升機。評估完成後會公佈。至於F-16戰機，正如我所說，我們正在升級其配備更先進的有源電子掃描陣列（AESA）雷達和空對地武器。

SAF將部署更多無人平臺，超出現有的無人機，以釋放人力資源用於其他任務。海軍設想無人艦艇最終可輔助艦船巡邏水域和排除水下地雷。同樣，陸軍可能使用無人地面車輛執行安全巡邏。

維克拉姆·奈爾先生、劉謙強先生和傅志偉先生詢問了我們的網路防禦問題——提問非常好。我們認為這是一項非常嚴重的威脅。它可能比物理入侵更具破壞性，因為它能擾亂關鍵設施。我認為這也是國家優先事項。國家層面，網路安全域性（CSA）去年在總理辦公室（PMO）下成立；PMO和副總理張志賢負責國家安全協調秘書處（NSCS）。議員們關於國家安全的具體問題應向該機構提出。

但就SAF而言，正如劉謙強先生正確指出的，我們最近成立了網路防禦行動中心（CDOH）。我們將增加人員編制。我不會透露具體數字，但可以說到2020年人員將翻倍。

網路入侵每天都在發生。對從事此行業的人來說，不是幾十次，不是幾百次，也不是幾千次，而是數十萬甚至數百萬的網路事件日誌。你用演算法和智慧軟體過濾大部分，識別疑似入侵。但你擔心的不是那些破壞網頁、讓你顏面掃地但不影響你的事件，而是那些能潛入系統、竊取機密或在特定時間觸發使你防禦癱瘓的網路攻擊。

這事關國家安全。有組織、有結構，很多是所謂的“設計即安全”，即在構建網路時就設計安全措施。正如我所說，這些問題可在國家層面由CSA處理。

對SAF來說，我們預計將更多使用人工智慧和更好的資料分析來檢測和應對網路威脅。我們將加強軟體設計中的安全性，強化網路架構防禦，使其更能抵禦和恢復網路攻擊。這包括硬體基礎設施。我們還將大量投資培養更多更專業的網路防禦人員。SAF將與國家CSA合作。

我們投入大量資源維持強大防禦，但即便如此，新加坡無法獨自面對安全威脅。孤軍奮戰是愚蠢且必敗的。例如，為阻止恐怖主義全球蔓延，我們加強與馬來西亞、印度尼西亞鄰國及美國、澳大利亞等夥伴的情報共享，以便他們能提供預警，協助逮捕意圖傷害我們的嫌疑人。這尤為重要，因為激進分子利用東南亞作為中轉點。

除了情報，我們持續建立持久夥伴關係，加強區域安全。裴潤金先生和維克拉姆·奈爾先生詢問了我們的國防外交努力。我們與所有國家為友，培養關係，並持續加強與最親近鄰國——馬來西亞武裝部隊（MAF）和印度尼西亞國防軍（TNI）的良好關係。今年我們還將慶祝與汶萊國防關係40週年。

維克拉姆·奈爾先生問及中國和美國。去年12月，美國國防部長阿什頓·卡特與我簽署了加強防務合作協議。該協議更新並深化了我們的防務關係，涵蓋反恐、生物安全和網路防禦等非常規安全領域。正是與美國的密切關係，使我們獲得了急需的訓練空間和高階防務技術。無論是F-16、F-15、奇努克還是阿帕奇直升機，我們的飛行員都在美國接受廣泛訓練，使用的訓練場地面積是新加坡的數倍。

奈爾先生問及中國。我們於2014年達成了軍事關係四點共識，旨在“促進信任建設……加強務實合作”。去年，我們與中國啟動了名為“海上合作”的雙邊海軍演習系列。我們將基於這些舉措，鼓勵中國繼續在區域發揮和平建設性作用。

裴潤金先生問及澳大利亞及其戰略伙伴關係（CSP）。防務關係非常重要。許多SAF官兵參加“袋鼠”演習，在廣闊區域訓練。我們希望通過去年兩國總理認可的CSP，進一步推動人員交流、反恐和研發合作。

除了雙邊努力，裴潤金先生等議員問及香格里拉對話和國防部長會議（ADMM）。有議員問為何參與這些活動。借用丘吉爾的話，“多談話總比開戰好”。這需要努力，但更重要的是，作為防務共同體的聚合促進了基於規則的安全架構，即我們能達成共識、以國際法為基礎的體系，創造對話和務實合作機會。有時，這也幫助我們應對突發事件和危機，如HADR。

但我要說明，我們不是北約。我們還需很長時間才能認為自己類似北約，我甚至不確定北約結構是否適合東盟。我們在夥伴關係中合作，前提是不放棄主權或軍事控制權。這在東盟行不通。

我們會在可能的範圍內合作和對話。例如，今年將舉行ADMM-Plus海上安全與反恐演習，新加坡將協辦。屆時18個軍隊將參與，增進互信，降低海上事故風險。

主席女士，正如扎基·穆罕默德先生指出的，總防衛已推行30多年。但極端主義團體如ISIS帶來的威脅使總防衛更為重要。極端分子不僅造成身體傷害，還能在新加坡人中播下深刻不信任，削弱社會凝聚力。

關鍵問題是：極端襲擊後，我們的社會會分裂嗎？新加坡人會因恐懼而癱瘓、製造不和嗎？我們希望聽取新加坡人如何加強總防衛，鼓勵更多自下而上的想法。高階國務部長莫哈末·馬利基和翁業康高階國務部長正領導這些工作，稍後將分享更多關於SGFuture的參與情況。

普里坦·辛格先生問國防部或SAF是否應做更多工作，比如釋出防務白皮書或其他措施，以增強新加坡人和外部國家對我們防務能力和意圖的支援。我認為這是崇高目標。如何有效實現，我們可以討論。但我要說，我們定期進行民意調查——有時是人口調查。幸運的是，國防支援度一直很高。去年8月的調查中，97%的新加坡受訪者認為政府在防務和國家安全方面表現良好。

總防衛的核心是社會信任——公民間的信任，指揮官與士兵間的信任，政府與人民間的信任，SAF與我們承諾保護的人民間的信任。

SAF知道，只有踐行其價值觀，才能建立這種信任。所有士兵宣誓的核心價值之一是以生命捍衛新加坡。SAF指揮官和士兵必須將新加坡和新加坡人置於首位，高於自身福祉，無論是在訓練還是行動中。

下午2時30分

六年前，我們一架阿帕奇直升機的兩臺發動機在飛行中同時失效。阿帕奇有兩臺發動機，兩臺都失效。對阿德里安·郭少校和斯賓塞·勒少校來說，可以說他們生死一瞬，生命受到實際威脅——這可能是他們的最後一次飛行。但他們表現專業，正如每位飛行員所學，確保不危及平民生命，即使這意味著危及自己。

他們從一萬英尺自由滑翔，兩分鐘內著陸。滑翔過程中，他們將直升機機動至遠離建築物的空曠地帶。飛行員倖存，更重要的是沒有平民受傷。

我們看到這種將他人置於自身之前的責任感，在我們的國民服役兵中也有體現。三年前，卡馬拉西瓦姆中尉在實彈手榴彈演習中冒生命危險救了一名新兵。該新兵意外鬆開了手榴彈的保險銷。許多曾服役的議員知道，鬆開保險銷即啟動手榴彈，必須立即投擲。他鬆開了保險銷。這位軍官沒有慌張，立即指示新兵投擲手榴彈，然後護住新兵，將兩人拉到混凝土牆後。幸運的是，兩人僅受輕傷。

我希望能向新加坡人保證，保護新加坡人、努力訓練和執行任務的SAF士兵不會面臨風險，但大家都知道，所有軍隊都存在風險——無論是直升機、步兵還是艦船。我們會盡全力安全完成訓練和任務，因為新加坡的每條生命都珍貴。

最終，我要說，對SAF來說，新加坡人的生命必須放在首位。[向尊敬的議員展示幻燈片]這就是郭少校和勒少校，以及卡馬拉西瓦姆中尉在SAF日獲得傑出行為獎章的照片。他曾是國民服役兵，事件後決定簽約成為現役軍人。我很高興他加入了SAF。這兩位飛行員和這位軍官體現了SAF無私奉獻的核心價值。

主席女士，在這動盪的和平時期，SAF將刻苦訓練，充分準備，不斷適應，以保護新加坡。我再次請求並感謝本院議員和新加坡人對維護強大防務的堅定支援和承諾。有了新加坡人的堅強支援，SAF將果斷應對所有意圖傷害我們的人，保護我們稱之為家的寶貴島嶼。

訓練與學習系統

李毅賢議員（東海岸）：主席女士，正如國防部長剛才向議會保證的，SAF被尊為一支強大且專業的武裝力量。除了擁有尖端能力，保持強大且專業的武裝力量的關鍵要素之一是有效的訓練。

在2015年國防部總參謀長辯論中，吳慶瑞部長也表示，SAF一直與其他先進國家軍隊進行基準比較，並通過逼真訓練和實戰檢驗其系統。他還談到了國防部和SAF在訓練用地利用上的審慎做法。

鑑於新加坡土地有限且戰場日益複雜，SAF以何種新方式改進訓練和學習系統，以克服資源限制？SAF如何確保官兵保持高水平的作戰準備？

主席：普里坦·辛格先生，您有兩次發言機會，請合併發言。

國民服役訓練系統

普里坦·辛格：主席女士，國民服役訓練系統已取得長足進步，這在很大程度上得益於國防部願意採納國民服役者及其家庭的意見。必須重申，國民服役者是前線士兵，訓練必須嚴肅對待。然而，對於部分士兵來說，國民服役訓練週期的某些環節仍有改進空間，前提是符合作戰和預算需求。

一個建議是考慮如何讓更多國民服役者更快部署到國民服役單位，理想情況下不超過其服役準備日期後兩年。這有助於確保國民服役者的體能水平保持較高，準備個人體能測試（IPPT）或營區訓練（ICT）時體能訓練曲線不陡峭。

其次，我想了解一下關於部分國民服役男兵高強度與低強度ICT（集訓週期）不匹配的最新情況。有些人完成了許多低強度ICT，但高強度ICT較少，導致他們在國防部的預備役名單上排隊等待時間較長。國防部預備役部隊在多大程度上能夠按照加強國民服役委員會（CSNS）的建議，實施補充高強度ICT？

最後，多年來國防部一直慷慨地為國民服役男兵在其服役期間補充中央公積金（CPF）賬戶。然而，鑑於終身學習特別是技能未來（SkillsFuture）計劃的新推動，我想請問國防部，在下一次審查國民服役政策時，是否考慮在國民服役訓練週期內，額外為國民服役男兵的賬戶注入技能未來積分，以表彰他們對國民服役的終身承諾？

訓練安全

主席女士，許多新加坡人未必注意到的是，新加坡武裝部隊（SAF）為戰爭及非戰爭行動所做的高強度計劃和訓練。這並不奇怪，因為我們很多訓練都在海外進行，考慮到新加坡訓練場地的短缺，SAF會前往德國、法國、澳大利亞、泰國、印度、臺灣、汶萊、紐西蘭和美國等地，此外還會與中國等國進行臨時聯合演習。

在如此高強度的訓練節奏下，儘管SAF和指揮官們盡最大努力，事故和意外仍難以避免。我建議國防部考慮加強對公眾的訓練安全宣傳。所有開放日和公眾推廣活動中可以設立專門環節或部分內容用於此目的。雖然這些資訊可能不像展示的豹式坦克那樣吸引大量觀眾，但它將重要地反映國防部對在真實環境中安全且嚴格訓練的承諾。

支援國民服役

副教授法蒂瑪·拉蒂夫：主席女士，國家防衛至關重要。對於新加坡而言，我們位於全球貿易和旅行的十字路口，既戰略重要又極為脆弱。因此，在保衛國家時，每一份努力、每一個人都至關重要。武裝部隊志願軍（VC）的設立，使不符合國民服役資格的人士能夠自願參軍。他們是無私奉獻的個人，作為我們的防衛大使，自願服務。

國防部能否更新我們關於志願軍首批成員的情況？訓練他們的經驗如何？該計劃是否需要改進？

我們也歡迎許多支援新加坡國民服役和國防運動的倡導者。這些人和組織來自企業、機構、個人，甚至中小企業（SME）員工。國防部計劃如何繼續與這群重要人士和組織保持互動，並在未來加強與他們的關係？

國民服役體系中的認可

珍·佩雷拉女士（丹戎巴葛）：主席女士，請允許我代表許多母親，首先表達對國民服役幫助我們的男孩成長為男人的良好工作的感謝。

我們的國民服役男兵是國家防衛體系的中堅力量。作為一個人口老齡化的小國，我們必須妥善規劃，使每位服役者都能最大限度地發揮保護新加坡的潛力。為了履行職責，服役者必須做出許多犧牲，抽出時間離開學業、工作和家庭生活。因此，給予他們應有的認可是理所當然的。

因此，我很高興CSNS成立，審視如何加強未來的國民服役體系。根據反饋，CSNS在五個方面提出建議：（a）加強國民服役訓練體系；（b）增加國民服役男兵貢獻的機會；（c）建立武裝部隊志願軍（SAFVC）；（d）提升國民服役男兵的認可和福利；（e）擴大社群對國民服役男兵的支援。

因此，國防部和內政部調整了入伍前的體檢和行政安排，將服役者入伍時間縮短至四至六個月。去年，國防部還宣佈將國民服役認可獎（NSRA）改為國民服役住房、醫療和教育（NS HOME）獎，提供額外的醫療儲蓄和醫療保險補助。

請問國防部能否更新CSNS的新舉措？國防部如何持續努力認可國民服役男兵的貢獻？

國民服役男兵

林偉傑醫生（森巴旺）：主席女士，第一批9000名青年於1967年被徵召服役，服滿兩年至兩年半的全職服役，之後每年服役幾周，持續十多年。他們都是先驅一代，現在已67歲。

每個新加坡人都會認識正在服役或曾服役的某人。那個人可能是父親、丈夫、兄弟、兒子，甚至是孫子。偶爾，我們會在電視或廣播中聽到國民服役的訊息，如動員、營內訓練以及資源動員的呼號。

但在這平靜安寧的環境下，成千上萬的男兵穿著綠色軍服或畫素迷彩服，在陸、海、空各領域服役。他們中少部分是職業軍人，大多數是作戰準備的國民服役男兵。他們在戰爭各方面刻苦訓練，有時白天，有時夜晚。有些人會去海外不同地形訓練，冒著季風季節的雷暴，或頂風冒浪跳傘等。野外訓練時，戰鬥口糧和泡麵是奢侈品。有時夜晚變成白天，白天變成夜晚。穿著制服時，不用擔心時間，專注於完成任務，實現戰鬥目標。我怎麼知道？因為我和我們的國民服役男兵一起經歷過這些。我仍是活躍的國民服役海軍醫官。

正因為我們有強大的防衛力量作為基礎，才有和平與安全，使我們得以繁榮發展。我們的國民服役男兵響應國家召喚，每年服役幾周，擔任武裝部隊的各類職務。在這幾周裡，他們會想念家人，工作由同事承擔。

國民服役為國家做了很多貢獻。除了建立強大的防衛力量，國民服役還培養了強烈的戰友情誼——新加坡人的身份認同。國民服役是一個平臺，讓不同種族、語言和宗教的男兵一起融合、吃飯、睡覺和訓練。國民服役是許多新加坡人跨越各行各業的共同經歷和紐帶。

一批又一批的國民服役男兵響應召喚。他們的能力和承諾是每個僱主都引以為傲的品質。我們的男兵執行過許多工，從自然災害後的救援人道主義任務，到參與聯合國多國軍事任務。

我想請部長談談國防部或武裝部隊如何進一步認可國民服役男兵的犧牲和承諾。既然他們為國家安全作出貢獻併發揮重要作用，也許我們應考慮其他可量化的方式照顧他們，比如為60歲及以上的國民服役男兵提供免費的醫療保險（MediShield Life）保障。既然他們用青春保衛國家，國家理應在他們年老時照顧他們。

國民服役男兵是防衛力量的主體，是我們的寶貴資產。為他們提供專業和個人發展的培訓也很重要。請問有哪些相關專案？國防部還能在哪些方面做得更多？

武裝部隊人員補償

穆罕默德·費薩爾·賓·阿卜杜勒·馬納普先生（阿裕尼）：主席女士，我有兩點建議和三點澄清，關於武裝部隊人員的補償。

第一，國防部是否考慮將心理問題，如訓練或行動中產生的創傷後應激障礙（PTSD）或憂鬱症，納入殘疾定義？這些狀況可能長期致殘，影響退役後履職或工作能力。

第二，新加坡每年在國防上投入大量資金。我們如何分配資金，確保新兵和國民服役男兵得到充分保障？國防部如何向成員提供武裝部隊團體保險建議，並確保他們保險充足？國防部是否考慮在公民履行國民服役義務時，承擔保險全額費用或與私人保險共付？

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第三，國防部如何評估基於《工傷賠償法》（WICA）的補償模式是否足夠？受傷或殘疾者可能需要長期護理、裝置或設施，超出醫療服務或義肢範圍。這可能給家庭帶來經濟和情感負擔，甚至需要家庭成員辭職提供長期照顧。國防部如何評估永久收入損失和殘疾者終身護理費用是否得到充分覆蓋？

第四，補償框架是否考慮到受傷服役人員退役後無法獲得保險保障或被迫支付更高保費的情況？

最後，今年預算中，國防部為長期殘疾或死亡的補償和支援預留了多少資金？

全民防衛

張浩斌醫生（武吉班讓）：主席女士，近期比利時、法國、印度和印度尼西亞等多國發生恐怖襲擊，引發許多新加坡人的擔憂。如今，極端分子受錯誤宗教教義和錯誤資訊影響，危害無辜民眾。這些極端分子改變戰術，攻擊軟目標，如音樂廳和咖啡館，給許多國家的安全力量和民眾帶來新挑戰。除了造成財產損失和無辜生命傷亡外，這些恐怖襲擊還影響不同種族和宗教間的信任，以及政府與民眾間的信任。因此，許多國家加強反恐努力，應對新威脅。

同樣，新加坡政府一直加強全民防衛能力，保護新加坡人併為此類襲擊做準備。鑑於安全威脅上升，我想請教國防部以下問題：（a）新加坡人的全民防衛準備情況如何？（b）還能做些什麼加強新加坡人的韌性？

主席女士，我擔心許多新加坡人仍未具備應對緊急情況的能力，如爆炸或自然災害。許多人缺乏基本的緊急準備（EP）知識和技能，如急救、心肺復甦（CPR）、自動體外除顫器（AED），也不瞭解緊急響應程式。我瞭解到“新加坡安全”（SG Secure）將在社群開展緊急準備技能培訓。我希望新加坡人能認真學習並正確練習這些技能。緊急準備技能在緊急時刻可能決定生死。

主席：阿姆林·阿敏先生，您有三次發言機會，請合併發言。

阿姆林·阿敏先生（森巴旺）：謝謝，主席女士。關於全民防衛，我們面臨極端主義意識形態日益增長的威脅，這威脅到我們的多種族、多宗教和諧，試圖分裂我們。全民防衛在加強我們抵禦此類威脅的韌性方面能發揮什麼作用？國防部在培養新加坡人對全民防衛的承諾方面有哪些努力？

面對挑戰的韌性

安全威脅和挑戰持續演變。全球安全形勢，如恐怖主義、流行病、經濟危機和環境災害，影響新加坡人在國內外的生活。新加坡人在防衛中能發揮什麼作用？面對多樣的安全挑戰，我們如何成為一個有韌性的社會？

防衛承諾

世界上最先進的軍事裝備，如果沒有人民保衛國家的意願，也毫無用處。我們的安全依賴所有新加坡人的貢獻。新加坡值得保衛，也能被保衛。這一核心信念必須植入並保持在每個新加坡人心中。我們不能保衛的，就不屬於我們。國防部如何與新加坡人互動，加強他們對新加坡防衛的承諾？

李毅賢先生：主席女士，去年新加坡慶祝建國五十週年，期間我們表彰了先驅一代和國家建設領導者的貢獻。多虧他們，新加坡人享受了數十年的相對和平與穩定。對年輕一代來說，諸如對抗事件、種族騷亂和新加坡獨立之路等，是學習內容，而非親身記憶。

對許多年輕人來說，李光耀先生逝世時的回憶湧現，可能是他們首次瞭解到先驅一代為建設今日新加坡所經歷的艱辛。即使我們已過SG50和SAF50慶典，仍有許多方式認可先驅一代，借鑑他們豐富的經驗。

國防部如何努力吸引年輕一代關注防務議題，培養他們更強的防衛承諾？國防部是否計劃藉助武裝部隊先驅的經驗和智慧？國防部如何利用社交媒體與年輕人及廣大新加坡人互動？

鑑於新加坡安全威脅的多面性，所有新加坡人必須隨時準備為全民防衛貢獻力量。現代威脅快速演變，我們的全民防衛理念也必須更新，以適應全球、地區和社會的發展與挑戰。國防部能否介紹2016年全民防衛運動的最新情況？

海軍艦艇

穆罕默德·費薩爾·賓·阿卜杜勒·馬納普先生：主席女士，我堅信武裝部隊應包容開放，對所有新加坡人公平公正，無論種族、語言和宗教。因此，在去年總參謀長辯論中，我敦促部長認真考慮確保所有海軍艦艇配備清真認證廚房的可能性，以便馬來/穆斯林新加坡人能無障礙地在海軍艦艇服役。我想了解國防部在使海軍艦艇更友好於馬來/穆斯林新加坡人方面取得了哪些進展？目前服役的艦艇中，有多少配備了清真認證廚房？

我瞭解到，武裝部隊對國民服役士兵的部署基於能力、技能和對新加坡的承諾。我希望儘快解決實際問題，如在海軍艦艇上安裝清真認證廚房，以免進一步剝奪和打擊符合條件的馬來/穆斯林新加坡人服役海軍艦艇的夢想。

國防社群關係諮詢委員會工作更新

裴潤慶先生：國防社群關係諮詢委員會（ACCORD）是社群反饋新加坡國防相關問題的渠道。除了國民服役男兵和現役軍人，支援還延伸至他們的家人、朋友、同事及整個社會。幾乎每個新加坡人都有份。ACCORD成員在建立公眾對新加坡安全和國防需求的接受和支援方面發揮了重要作用。

國防部能否介紹過去一年各ACCORD委員會的工作情況？公眾參與的廣度和代表性如何？未來將如何開展？

主席女士，爭取利益相關者和更大社群的支援是雙向過程。武裝部隊也必須理解、包容和富有同情心，同時維護防衛體系的完整性，因為每個新加坡男子都有服役義務。

最近，一位居民在我的面對面會談中請求在為期一個月的動員服役期間，免除15天服役時間。原因是他的公司剛剛因其出色表現派他去歐洲參加為期五天的獎勵旅行，但他是在服役前一週才得知此行。他希望能將行程延長11天作為個人假期。

他的公司人力資源部，一家主要本地銀行，向武裝部隊發郵件請求豁免。這是一封非常友好且專業的郵件。但我對指揮官的回覆語氣感到驚訝，摘錄如下：“我仍有權完全拒絕他去出差，更不用說私人假期。我尚未收到他的工資單和佣金，也未獲知去義大利出差的總費用。我必須明確表示，我管理300多名士兵，我設定的標準必須被所有人遵守。這並不像你想象的那麼簡單。”

我很高興這位居民最終獲准參加獎勵旅行，但未獲批准延長假期。不過，我認為指揮官在處理公司請求時，態度本可以更友好和理解。我相信此類情況極為罕見，但我希望國防部能提醒官員更加註意態度。

主席：國防部高階國務部長王乙康。

國防部高階國務部長（王乙康先生）：主席女士，我咳嗽得很厲害，但我會盡力而為。

隨著我們的安全環境日益複雜和動盪，我們不僅需要先進的裝備和技術，還需要每一位國民服役者的持續貢獻和承諾。

今天，我將談論對國民服役者重要的三個方面——有效訓練、有意義的認可和培養自豪感。在此過程中，我應該能夠回答議員們在質詢中提出的大部分問題。

李毅賢議員詢問了我們訓練和學習系統的改進。我們的服役人員計程車兵技能是通過嚴格訓練獲得、磨鍊和保持的。但新加坡沒有大片土地用於軍事訓練，我們必須通過創新手段使訓練更具現實感。

以實彈射擊為例。為了讓服役人員在射擊技能和武器系統操作上獲得更大的信心，實彈射擊場現在配備了能夠模擬真實作戰場景的靶標系統。

此外，實地訓練輔以模擬訓練，培養士兵的認知決策能力，同時提升他們的實戰技能。一個例子是2015年10月啟動的機動步兵模擬中心。該中心配備一套模擬器，為特定武器和平臺提供戰術訓練。

除了嚴格和現實，訓練的另一個關鍵要素是安全。普里坦·辛格議員詢問了公眾對訓練安全的參與。我認為這是一個非常合理的關切，我們也同樣重視。新加坡武裝部隊有著非常良好的安全記錄。但我們不會自滿，而是會努力繼續改進。

我們認識到，每一位服役的新加坡男性國民服役者背後，都有家人擔心他們的安全。為了讓他們安心，探訪基礎軍事訓練中心的家屬會被展示訓練的進行方式及我們採取的安全措施。

訓練安全也是我們許多公眾參與活動的重點。我已注意到普里坦·辛格議員建議增加此類活動。我希望本院的議員們，尤其是像林偉傑醫生這樣仍積極服役的議員，能協助我們向公眾和所有居民保證我們對訓練安全的高度重視。

不幸的是，儘管我們盡力，傷亡仍不可避免。費薩爾·馬納普議員詢問了我們的賠償框架，並提出了若干建議。

我們的賠償框架參考並優於《工傷賠償法案》（WICA）。賠償金額通常是WICA規定的兩到四倍。國防部還支付所有因服役相關傷害在政府及重組醫院或診所產生的必要醫療費用，直至治療結束。除賠償外，我們的福利框架通過武裝部隊慈善基金和武裝部隊關懷基金為服役人員及其家庭提供額外支援。

但任何形式的賠償都無法彌補肢體永久殘疾或更嚴重的生命損失。費薩爾·馬納普議員提出了許多建議，我第一次聽時努力記住。但我的印象是，我們不應將國民服役的認可變成對犧牲的貨幣估價，因為永遠不夠。失去肢體，失去親人，賠償永遠不夠。但我們會盡力做到公平，希望我們的賠償和福利框架在服役過程中發生不幸事件時能提供足夠支援。

普里坦·辛格議員還詢問了對正在進行預備役國民服役（ORNS）國民服役者的管理。首先談談ORNS何時開始。我必須說，儘早開始ORNS符合武裝部隊利益，但不會在第一年開始，因為他們剛完成兩年義務服役，第一年召回較困難。

目前，大多數作戰單位的國民服役者會在退伍後兩年內被召回進行ORNS訓練。但有些人因各種原因，如海外工作或學習、因繁重學業或職業任務推遲、等待醫療複查，或是作為教官或總部人員無單位需重新部署，導致ORNS訓練週期開始較晚。

儘管如此，我們會盡可能確保ORNS訓練儘早開始。這符合我們的利益，尤其是當你以單位身份退伍時，希望保持單位的凝聚力和戰友情誼。

有幾種方式。一是確保ORNS的最初幾年包含較短、低調的訓練，便於召回。二是與本地大學合作，方便學生被召回，確保ORNS訓練早開始。三是調整國民服役者的部署，例如曾在基礎軍事訓練中心服役的教官可被部署為訓練學院的教官。這些措施確保ORNS訓練早開始，更重要的是保持單位凝聚力和戰友情誼。

接著是ORNS何時結束的問題。自2006年起，我們將ORNS週期從13年縮短至10年。許多人能在30歲出頭完成服役，那時他們生活中有更多事務。10年ORNS有結構安排——從低調、可能是連級訓練開始，逐步升級到高調、較長的演習。

然而，當國民服役者因健康原因、長期海外任務或如裴潤慶議員剛才講述的因獎勵旅行而錯過高調訓練時，可能會打亂其ORNS週期。有些人可能經歷過，結果是多參加低調的年度訓練（ICT），未完成高調訓練。出現這種情況有幾種情形：若仍在同一單位，可能全年被召回參加其他ORNS活動，如作戰簡報、演習準備，這些通常是低調ICT，累計時間。若被調往其他單位，則按新單位的作戰需求和召回安排參加低調和高調ICT。

最終，這不是簡單問題。因工作、健康、家庭等原因的延期越來越多。我們都越來越忙，武裝部隊需要理解這些生活優先事項——裴潤慶議員剛才也提到這一點。但這同時影響ORNS週期的完成。我們將繼續盡力幫助儘可能多的國民服役者早完成ORNS週期，同時滿足武裝部隊的作戰需求。

喬安·佩雷拉女士和林偉傑醫生詢問了我們在國民服役者認可方面還能做些什麼，這是國民服役委員會（CSNS）的關鍵建議之一。我們一直在尋找方式表達對國民服役者及其支持者的感謝——如國民服役稅務減免、國民服役住房、醫療和教育（NS HOME）獎項、SAFRA設施。這些認可形式讓他們知道他們的犧牲被深切感激，為新加坡的更大利益服務。我們將從三方面加強對國民服役者的認可。

首先，目前我們有家庭認可券計劃，國民服役者可在多家商戶使用。我們將加強並更名為國民服役卓越獎。變化不僅是名稱，獲獎人數將從現有的前10%增加到前30%。金額也將增加，前10%獲$200，接下來的20%獲$100（現行金額）。我們還將推出慶祝禮品，國民服役者結婚或迎來新生兒時將獲價值$100的代金券。

第二，2016年下半年，我們將加強來自武裝部隊、警察部隊和民防部隊的國民服役者基本人壽和意外傷害保險保障，涵蓋全職國民服役和預備役活動。每位服役人員將獲得$150,000的團體定期壽險和團體意外傷害保險保障。

第三，我們將改善SAFRA設施。新的SAFRA榜鵝俱樂部將於2016年4月完工。實際上已基本完成，正待開幕。我已參觀過俱樂部，設施非常吸引人。東北部地區有82,000名國民服役者及其家屬，我相信俱樂部將很好地服務他們。但最終，國民服役者最好的回報是我們共同生活在和平的新加坡，家人安全。這是最好的認可形式。

林偉傑醫生還詢問我們還能做些什麼幫助國民服役者的職業和個人發展。

目前，武裝部隊已部署部分新兵到其現有技能可貢獻於作戰需求的崗位，包括具備相關醫療或工程背景的新兵，擔任醫務兵、技術員或海軍醫務官。

此外，我們將繼續與勞動力發展局（WDA）合作，認證國民服役期間學到的領導和職業技能，如軍事警察、醫務人員和飛機技術員。這對國民服役者有用。我們將更多考慮服役人員的技能和能力進行部署，同時平衡作戰需求。例如，關鍵崗位和指揮官職位的人員配置必須優先。諷刺的是，這些關鍵崗位通常沒有技能證書。

在國民服役中，指揮官常說，“在國民服役，我們衝刺”，意指大家一起衝鋒上山，建立戰友情誼，共同訓練，這些是我們帶回來的寶貴經驗，但沒有證書。但我們都明白，經歷過這些，我們從“男孩成長為男人”。

我們還必須認可支援國民服役的利益相關者，正如法蒂瑪·拉蒂夫副教授提出的。去年，我們改進了全民防衛獎，表彰了122名錶現出極大支援國民服役的倡導者。有一個例子是Digistore Solutions私人有限公司，這是一家中小企業，強力支援其國民服役員工。除了確保員工的工作職責得到覆蓋外，他們還為完成年度訓練的員工提供帶薪家庭旅行，如馬六甲、民丹島。我聽說在年度訓練期間，他們甚至派遣公司交通送員工的孩子上學。

為了更好地認可此類公司，今年我們將推出國家認證計劃——國民服役標誌。該計劃認可支援國民服役和全民防衛的組織，鼓勵更多僱主和企業採用支援國民服役者的人力資源政策。根據該計劃，組織將獲得國民服役標誌或更高級別的國民服役標誌（金獎），頂級國民服役標誌（金獎）組織將進一步被認可為國民服役倡導者。

第三，帶著自豪感服役。國民服役機構的強大取決於國民服役者的承諾和戰鬥精神。我們在許多國民服役者身上看到這種精神。儘管要兼顧國民服役職責與日常家庭和工作承諾，這些國民服役者仍抽時間參加課程，提升職業和領導技能，為更高職位做準備。我們也看到國民服役者延長服役，為國家防務貢獻。例如，具備工程和心理學相關專長的國民服役者自願參加專業轉換計劃。

激勵國民服役者如此奉獻的往往是與戰友在單位中建立的戰友情誼。去年，我們一位國民服役指揮官，陸軍中校（國民服役）達倫·陳，在Facebook上釋出了一則獻給其營——823新加坡步兵團的帖子。讓我引用他對營使命宣言的描述，我猜是他寫的，“一個擁有堅定熱情、致力於保護家園的大家庭。”

國民服役下士（國民服役）穆罕默德·阿茲米·阿里芬推遲了蜜月旅行，以完成與營隊的重要評估測試。我猜這是得到妻子同意的。國民服役一等兵（國民服役）莫興志雖被診斷患癌，仍在國民服役夥伴的幫助和支援下完成了年度訓練。

我們的國民服役者能夠保持這種服役精神，是因為新加坡人團結支援國民服役。這種精神也體現在女性、新公民和第一代永久居民中，他們主動加入武裝部隊志願團（SAFVC），正如法蒂瑪·拉蒂夫副教授所問。

我們自豪地宣佈，去年有226名來自不同背景和年齡的志願者完成了基礎訓練。超過80%的志願者已進入下一階段訓練。完成必要訓練的志願者已被部署到輔助安全部隊和海軍橋樑值班員等崗位。

新加坡永久居民、志願輔助安全部隊員亞歷山大·沃斯分享說，“我越來越渴望回饋我視為家的新加坡，併為國家防務貢獻力量。”

就在上週，2016年第一批志願者完成了基礎訓練。未來，我們將繼續看到武裝部隊志願團志願者在多樣崗位上部署，更好支援國民服役者保衛新加坡。

主席女士，明年我們將慶祝國民服役50週年。國民服役的引入是我們國家建設歷程中的重要里程碑，發生在新加坡獨立不久之後。當時，本院曾有前輩議員激烈辯論。

如今，我認為情況完全不同。我們都團結維護國民服役制度，正如林偉傑醫生所說，國民服役甚至成為一種國家認同。確實，我們的國民服役者及其支持者的努力，為新加坡建立了和平與穩定的基石。讓我們繼續確保國民服役成為新加坡的驕傲和力量源泉。

國防部高階國務部長（莫哈末·馬利基·奧斯曼博士）：主席女士，去年新加坡慶祝獨立50週年，我們重申了塑造今日新加坡的信念、價值觀和態度。但有人可能會問：我們能否走到新加坡100週年？

我們有信心，一個先進且訓練有素的武裝部隊保障我們的家園和生活方式，但我們必須明白，安全機構無法獨自完成這項任務。最終，每個人都有責任參與新加坡的防衛。我很欣慰，在焦點小組討論中，許多新加坡人表達了這一觀點。

下午3時15分

今年全民防衛運動的主題是“攜手共築堅強新加坡”，體現了團結的力量。自全民防衛32年前推出以來，我們面臨的威脅和挑戰不斷演變，但作為一個民族共同應對的訊息依然重要，甚至更為重要。

以去年巴黎事件為例，恐怖襲擊造成120人遇難。最初的震驚之後，法國人民展現了強烈的團結。僅兩週後，巴黎舉辦了2015年聯合國氣候變化大會，吸引140多位世界領導人和約4萬人參加。如今，儘管公共安全措施加強，巴黎人沒有退縮於恐懼和懷疑，而是迴歸日常生活，慶祝城市的堅韌與力量。正如法國總統奧朗德所說，“[恐怖分子]崇尚死亡，我們熱愛生命。”

正如阿姆林·阿敏議員指出，我們面對不斷演變的威脅時需要堅韌，我完全同意。2011年，新加坡伊斯蘭聖戰組織分支15名成員被捕後，學校和工作場所成立了跨種族信心圈，促進宗教間理解。我們從事件中變得更強，但也清楚安全機構無法單獨應對威脅。作為公眾成員，我們可以通過保持警惕、發現異常及時報警發揮作用。

例如，去年4月，一名自我激進化青年被拘留，因朋友注意到其行為變化並及時報警，阻止了他在新加坡實施攻擊計劃。今天及未來的戰鬥，不是坦克和飛機的戰爭，而是我們心靈和思想的戰爭，防範威脅社會凝聚力的影響。

主席女士，新加坡武裝部隊是新加坡社會的縮影，士兵來自不同的背景、宗教和種族。我想提醒莫哈末·費薩爾·阿卜杜勒·馬納普先生，新加坡是一個世俗國家，所有新加坡人根據憲法享有宗教信仰自由的權利。除了伊斯蘭教，佛教、印度教、基督教、猶太教和錫克教等宗教也有一定的飲食限制。然而，我們並不堅持公共飲食場所必須滿足任何特定宗教的要求。我們的做法不是鼓勵任何一個宗教團體完全推行其嚴格的要求，而是在儘可能的範圍內照顧不同宗教信徒的需求，同時維護所有人的公共空間和共同目標。

因此，在小販中心、學校食堂和美食廣場等地方，有清真和素食攤位，但沒有專門的清真或素食餐桌區域。這有助於社會融合，新加坡人在同一空間共同用餐和交流。這是我們多種族社會的基石，新加坡人對此表示接受。同樣，也沒有嚴格要求所有餐廳廚房必須獲得清真認證才能營業。

新加坡武裝部隊的運作方式類似於整個社會。在營區內，只要空間允許，我們會安排清真食品與非清真食品分開準備，但士兵們在餐廳一起用餐。空間有限時，素食和清真食品由集中廚房配送，而非在炊事班現場製作。在行動中，如野戰營，我們提供清真戰鬥口糧，也提供素食選項。

清真食品的準備必須嚴格遵守宗教規定，包括食材來源、製作過程甚至儲存。海軍艦艇空間有限，必須優先用於關鍵作戰需求，如作戰系統、彈藥和裝置備件。儘管如此，我們仍為艦上穆斯林官兵提供選擇，如海鮮、雞肉和蔬菜。同樣，我們也儘可能為有特定飲食限制的非穆斯林海軍官兵提供便利。

我們的做法與法國和美國等其他海軍類似。新加坡武裝部隊會在能力範圍內予以照顧，但作戰優先於個人需求。我們的官兵理解並接受這一點，願意在需要時作出犧牲，致力於保衛新加坡及我們所代表的一切。

讓我談談關於ACCORD提出的觀點。我很欣慰新加坡人理解社群在國家防務中的重要作用，並通過ACCORD提供有益反饋。

法蒂瑪·拉蒂夫副教授和裴炎慶先生詢問國防部加強社群支援國民服役的工作進展。我很高興地更新，ACCORD已實施去年提交的18項提案中的14項，以加強對國民服役的支援。

首先，家庭與社群理事會鼓勵近70家企業通過“我們支援你服役”計劃向國民服役者提供折扣和優惠。國民服役者及其家庭對此反響積極。該理事會還通過與新加坡婦女組織理事會和人民協會婦女融合網絡合作，加強了對女性的推廣。

其次，通過教育機構理事會，四所大專院校試點健身計劃，幫助預備役者為國民服役做好準備。這些學生的成果令人鼓舞。例如，淡馬錫理工學院的健身計劃使參與學生的IPPT合格率提高了25%以上。此外，教育機構理事會還向外國體系學校和私立資助機構的本地及永久居民學生推廣國民服役的重要性。東南亞聯合世界書院對此非常熱情，舉辦了面向九所外國體系學校430名預備役者及其家長的國民服役資訊晚會。

第三，僱主與企業理事會試點向僱主發放服役後信函，認可服役者在商業領域寶貴的技能和素質。去年，有122個個人、企業和組織因對國民服役的傑出支援獲得國民服役倡導者獎。絕對動力諮詢私人有限公司是獲獎者之一，他們通過為IPPT表現優異的國民服役者提供獎勵，並認可服役期間表現良好的員工，展示了對國民服役的強烈支援。

最令人欣慰的是，這些專案均由各理事會成員發起和領導。他們的熱情和積極性令人鼓舞。2016年，我們期待“我們支援你服役”計劃的擴充套件，以及與“家庭為生活”專案的更多精彩合作，覆蓋更廣泛的社群。我們將繼續鼓勵更多預備役者健身計劃，並通過今年晚些時候推出的“國民服役標誌”，促進更廣泛的支援，表彰支援國民服役的僱主、企業和組織。

阿姆林·阿敏先生和李毅賢先生詢問國防部如何鼓勵新加坡人加強對國防的承諾。新加坡武裝部隊定期舉辦活動，以有趣和互動的方式向公眾介紹我們的防禦能力。例如，空軍將在今年五月舉辦開放日。六月，新加坡陸軍和共和國海軍將在VivoCity分別舉辦展覽和海軍活動。預計通過這些活動接觸超過25萬名訪客。

去年，我們啟動了承諾國防大使計劃，讓新加坡武裝部隊的先驅者通過講述新加坡早期的奮鬥和逆境中的成就，激勵年輕一代。年輕人覺得這些分享既有趣又真實，正如他們所說，“這是網路上找不到的內容”。

例如，退役上校吳禮春通過講述他在對抗時期在哥打丁宜叢林中與滲透者作戰的經歷，吸引了聽眾。退役少校阿希姆·莫查爾表示，年輕人遠非冷漠，他們充滿熱情，理解新加坡必須自立自強的必要性。

張浩斌博士詢問公眾應對各種不斷演變威脅的準備情況。國防部同意公眾需要參與確保未來安全的討論。因此，我們將今年的全面防衛運動與“新加坡未來”公民參與計劃結合，主題為“安全與韌性的國家”。

一位討論參與者薩拉維南先生說：“看到大家對國家充滿熱情並願意分享，感覺很好。”許多人也貢獻了有趣的想法，如通過危機模擬演習展示全面防衛在應對混合威脅中的重要性。我們將繼續探索如何利用這些自下而上的創意，激發社群對全面防衛的行動。

今年二月至三月，我們舉辦了全面防衛展覽。展覽展示瞭如13歲時自願參與“公民巡邏”提高社群防範意識的努爾·阿爾法女士，以及打擊宗教極端主義宣傳的宗教康復小組等個人和團體。參觀者李炳傑先生說：“看到人們以自己的方式為社會貢獻，感覺很好。畢竟，全面防衛是所有人團結起來保持新加坡強大的體現，無論種族、語言和宗教。”我們希望展覽表明每個人都能為保持新加坡強大做出貢獻。

今年，我們更新了全面防衛歌曲《人人有份》。我相信各位議員都記得這首歌，但新版更加時尚。由本地樂隊QuickPick重新編曲，歌詞更新，旋律輕快，迅速流行。歌曲重新引入學校，並在十天內吸引超過60萬電視觀眾。連黃永宏部長也勇於跟唱，通過他的Facebook頁面幫助我們觸及50萬人。遺憾的是，今天沒有時間播放影片。希望每次唱這首歌時，我們都能重申對全面防衛的承諾。

我們還通過ciNE65短片比賽和N.E.mation!數字動畫比賽等平臺繼續與新加坡人互動。維多利亞初級學院的溫偉婷去年參加N.E.mation!後深受啟發，今年自願幫助並分享經驗。我們希望這些比賽作品在全國播放時，能促進關於全面防衛的討論，激勵大家為保持新加坡強大和韌性貢獻力量。

主席女士，國防部和新加坡武裝部隊還通過各種媒體平臺接觸多元觀眾。我們的故事突出國民服役者的犧牲和艱苦訓練，保衛新加坡。看過《阿兵哥》電影的人說它“揭示了無名英雄的故事”。《突擊隊員》紀錄片系列、《武裝部隊中的女性》和《武裝部隊先驅者》等節目都反響良好。我們欣慰新加坡人對國防的承諾依然堅強，未來一年將繼續分享更多故事。

建國50年，面臨的威脅不斷演變，我們的應對也在進步。未來充滿不確定性，但我相信，只要我們首先視自己為一個民族，決心攜手加強軍事、民事、經濟、社會和心理防禦，我們的社會將足夠堅韌，應對任何挑戰。

下午3時30分

主席：我們還有一點時間澄清問題。林偉傑博士。

林偉傑博士：謝謝主席。我有兩個澄清問題，都是關於國民服役標誌和金標誌，想請高階國務部長解答。企業獲得這些標誌的具體標準是什麼？我建議政府作為最大僱主之一，確保我們的法定機構和政府部門在私營企業之前就獲得國民服役標誌和金標誌。

其次，關於低調和高調的體能訓練營（ICT），我個人也認識一些人多次服低調ICT。是否可以考慮累積這些？比如服三四次低調ICT等同一次高調ICT，累計天數也是一種犧牲，我認為應予認可。

王乙康先生：感謝議員提問。關於法定機構，國防部同意議員的看法。國民服役標誌計劃的具體細節將在今年晚些時候公佈。

關於累積低調ICT成為高調ICT，這個建議以前有人提出過。我們已經研究過，也會繼續研究。但我認為有一定限度。就像我做幾個額外俯臥撐、多跳幾次遠跳、多跑幾次折返跑，也不能等同於跑完2.4公里。因此，這個邏輯有其侷限。

維克拉姆·奈爾先生：主席女士，我想討論部長提到的新威脅之一——網路安全。網路安全域性（CSA）和國防部都關注網路安全問題。我想了解兩者之間的協調情況，因為兩者面臨許多共同問題。網路安全域性主要負責國家層面，國防部則關注國內商業設施等。我認為兩者需要大量協調，面對的威脅型別也很相似。

黃永宏部長：女士，我簡單介紹一下結構。新加坡國家和全政府的網路安全協調機構是網路安全域性。其職責是保障全政府的網路環境安全，全政府也包括私營部門。例如，網路安全域性與關鍵行業合作，金融、交通、電力等都是重點。這是其職責範圍，隸屬總理辦公室。

新加坡武裝部隊負責自身軍事網路的網路安全，確保能夠執行防禦任務——有些細節我不能透露——但我們不依賴外部網路。

普里坦·辛格先生：謝謝主席女士。我的問題給高階國務部長，關於高調ICT問題。根據國防部長的建議，其中一項是實施補償性高調ICT。請問高階國務部長，國防部在這方面進展如何？因為聽您的回答，似乎實施上有困難。

王乙康先生：確實有限度。補償性高調ICT是將服役者重新部署到另一個正在進行高調ICT的單位。這樣做的缺點是他不再留在原單位。對許多國民服役者來說，這很重要，因為他們的朋友和戰友都在那個單位。

我們在努力實施補償性高調ICT，同時也考慮年輕人的多重事務。如果他們能在30歲出頭完成義務國民服役，開始組建家庭、買房、專注事業，我認為這是好事。因此，我們完全支援儘早完成服役，最好在30歲出頭。

穆罕默德·費薩爾·阿卜杜勒·馬納普先生：女士，我想重申我在發言中說過的，我堅信包容和開放的新加坡武裝部隊。我不認為高階國務部長需要提醒我，新加坡是一個多種族、多宗教的社會。

女士，我提出這個問題，是因為部長在一次公開論壇上回答為何海軍艦艇上沒有馬來族服役時，提到這是出於實際原因或實際問題。我的觀點是，既然這是一個實際存在的問題，是否已經以實際方式解決？這就是我的目的。我相信如果能解決這個實際問題，將進一步促進新加坡武裝部隊或共和國海軍的包容性。

黃永宏部長：女士，我提出程式性問題。議員引用我發言，但我不知道他引用的是哪段。如果他能提供我在會議或論壇上的原話，我很樂意澄清。

但我認為有更大問題。費薩爾·馬納普先生說他不需要被提醒我們是多種族、多宗教社會，但他在發言中只為穆斯林發聲。

高階國務部長馬利基明確表示，如果我們每個人——穆斯林為穆斯林發聲，基督徒為基督徒發聲，佛教徒為佛教徒發聲——我們從未推動各團體完全爭取自己的權利和信仰。我認為馬利基部長說得很清楚：在可行範圍內，我們會積極支援；新加坡武裝部隊和社會其他部分一樣。

因此，在空間充足的營區，如議員所知，我們設有穆斯林炊事班，提供素食。但我們明確表示，海軍艦艇空間始終有限。我們已經充分回答了議員的問題。

但更重要的是社會和武裝部隊的氛圍。武裝部隊匯聚所有新加坡人。我有不吃牛肉的人，有其他宗教信仰者，也有素食者。我們會盡力照顧，但首要原則是武裝部隊的作戰需求優先，個人需求有時必須服從。能照顧的地方我們會照顧。

我確信有時無法滿足所有人、滿足所有需求。我不能保證所有流動廚房都是清真。有時我們會提供預先準備的清真戰鬥口糧，但野外有時會供應新鮮口糧。這些情況都存在。

武裝部隊是複雜的體系。我們的總體觀點是：我們會盡力支援，像社會其他部分一樣，但始終以武裝部隊的需求和作戰考慮為先。可能需要個人犧牲，但我們也根據能力和承諾進行部署。

主席：法蒂瑪·拉蒂夫副教授。

法蒂瑪·拉蒂夫副教授：女士，我想問高階國務部長，武裝部隊志願者團的訓練是否根據個人能力設計？我知道有一群女士考慮加入，但擔心體能能力，我本人也是。

王乙康先生：訓練不同於全職國民服役訓練，分三個階段，根據志願者的體能和興趣安排。

主席：費薩爾·馬納普先生。

穆罕默德·費薩爾·賓·阿卜杜勒·馬納普先生：女士，我想拒絕部長將我稱為總是支援馬來/穆斯林議題的人的說法。我們可以查閱會議記錄。我相信我更多地關注的是國家層面的問題，而不是馬來/穆斯林的問題。我認為，作為集團選區（GRC）制度中少數族裔社群的當選議員，基於我從社群收集到的聲音，表達馬來/穆斯林議題是我的職責和責任。

黃永宏博士：女士，我很高興聽到這位議員將支援所有宗教的議題。

主席：維克拉姆·奈爾先生，您是否願意撤回您的修正案？

維克拉姆·奈爾先生：主席女士，我感謝各位議員的發言，也感謝部長和資深國務部長的回應。我認為我們進行了非常熱烈的討論。在許多國家，軍隊被視為一個強大而遙遠的組織。在新加坡則不同。因為我們有國民服役，我想幾乎每個人要麼正在服役，要麼認識正在服役的人。所以，從這個意義上說，軍隊離我們非常近。同時，它在本地區受到尊重，也受到我們的同輩尊敬，我認為這是一個非常重要的成就。

女士，我為新加坡武裝部隊感到自豪，也為能在武裝部隊服役感到自豪。我現在處於自願延長預備役（ROVER）階段。我們許多人都為此感到驕傲。基於此，女士，我請求撤回修正案。

【程式文本】修正案經同意，撤回。【程式文本】

【程式文本】主預算中J項下132.96億新元獲批准。【程式文本】

【程式文本】發展預算中J項下6.71億新元獲批准。【程式文本】

主席：秩序。我建議現在休息。

【程式文本】隨後，議長女士離開委員會主席席，回到議會主席席。【程式文本】

議長女士：秩序。我建議現在休息。我宣佈休會，下午4時05分繼續主持會議。

會議因此休會

於下午3時45分至4時05分。

會議於下午4時05分恢復

【議長女士主持】

英文原文

SPRS Hansard · Fetched: 2026-05-02

Security Environment

Mr Vikram Nair (Sembawang) : Madam, I beg to move, "That the total sum to be allocated for Head J of the Estimates be reduced by $100."

In 1971, when the British armed forces withdrew from Singapore, that marked the end of some 150 years during which the British oversaw Singapore's defence.

Quite suddenly, for the first time in history, Singapore was left to take care of its own defence. There were many challenges at the time. We had barely been independent for six years and were still finding our feet as a nation. The withdrawal of the British forces also had serious economic implications. Asia, like the rest of the world, was divided by the Cold War conflicts and tensions with wars raging in Vietnam and Korea. Closer to the neighbourhood, Konfrontasi was still fresh in our memories, as were the communist and communalist riots on the domestic front.

The challenge for a small country is that should it be subject to aggression by a larger country, it will still need to be able to hold its own. Thus, Singapore has always had to build up its armed forces in anticipation of having to defend itself against potentially larger aggressors. We tried to overcome the glaring disadvantage of size by starting National Service and investing in better technology.

The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) is now one of the most respected armed forces in the region. Our military leaders perform well in international assignments and our armed forces have made a good name for themselves assisting countries in disaster relief and humanitarian efforts.

However, the purpose of the SAF remains primarily to address security threats and I will highlight a few that remain a concern.

The first, terrorism. The spread of terror continues to be ever present in the region. We understand that Southeast Asia is a key recruitment area for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) which has established Katibah Nusantara in the region – their fighting force which was responsible for the 2016 Jakarta attacks. The terrorist attacks in Brussels and Paris are grim reminders of what terrorists are capable of.

Second, South China Sea. The South China Sea tensions continue to escalate despite the fact that the legal dispute resolution process is moving forward – indeed, maybe, it is escalating in response to this process. The latest actions see China reclaiming land, building up defence installations and lighthouses in the region, with the US and Australia continuing to assert their freedom of navigation. The Philippines and Vietnam, meanwhile, maintain their claims through the legal process.

Even more worrying is the Korean Peninsula, where North Korea continues its nuclear testing and, perhaps, for one of the first times I can remember in history, making specific threats to launch a nuclear strike. This may change the face of warfare if that were to materialise.

Closer to home, the Straits of Malacca continues to have stories of piracy. In June last year, eight men armed with pistols and machetes hijacked the Orkim Harmony, an oil tanker carrying some 6,000 tonnes of petrol worth more than $5 million, and tried to sail the ship to a friendly harbour where they could siphon off the liquid cargo. Their plan was foiled when they were spotted by security forces, but they managed to slip away in a lifeboat.

Mdm Chair, some of these conflicts may seem far away, some seem much closer to home but I believe all of them are important considerations for us. As a small, interconnected country, Singapore is likely to be affected by these threats. I will be interested to know what the Ministry of Defence's (MINDEF's) views are, both in relation to the threats I have described as well as what they believe to be the most salient national security challenges Singapore faces today?

Evolving Security Environment

Mr Zaqy Mohamad (Chua Chu Kang) : Mdm Chair, the nature of warfare today has changed. Threats today come from states, organisations and individuals that seek to undermine our security. The threat of hybrid warfare is also emerging, as we have learnt from the experience of Crimea, where there was a concerted effort to undermine the nation's defences through economic, socio-psychological as well as cyber warfare before taking them on militarily.

Last year, Minister Ng Eng Hen spoke extensively on hybrid warfare and he described hybrid warfare as the exact antagonist of Total Defence. Hybrid warfare integrates conventional and unconventional tools of warfare by both state and non-state actors. It is precisely because of the tools of coercion and aggression that these are wide-ranging, and their being wide-ranging means it may be difficult for nations, such as Singapore, to even identify the source of attacks.

1.15 pm

Furthermore, our world today is increasingly interconnected. While traditional battlefields of the past were largely confined to air, land and sea domains, modern conflicts have moved into other domains that extend beyond territorial and geographical boundaries. So, what are some of these trends that MINDEF has observed and are we facing such threats in Singapore? Has Singapore been tested by such threats in recent months? What are some of these threats?

It is clear that the military solution is not sufficient to address the threat of hybrid warfare. So, how is the Government responding to the threat of warfare on the various fronts and how do we bring in the stakeholders in Total Defence on board? We were quite good in having thought through Total Defence for many years, but given how things have evolved since its inception many years ago, how do we take it to the next level?

Terrorism

Ms Low Yen Ling (Chua Chu Kang) : Mdm Chair, in the past few months, no region has been spared from attacks by terrorists. We have all followed the news reports of recent attacks in Lahore, Brussels, Istanbul. But those attacks represent just a fraction of the total number that has been carried out in recent months.

In fact, in its annual global terrorism index report released at the end of last year, the Institute for Economics and Peace assessed that terrorism is at an all-time high, with more attacks in a wider range of countries than ever before. This index shows that there are nine times more people killed today in terror attacks than in the year 2000.

Regarding ISIS in particular, some analysts have observed that there has been a shift in the group's strategy. A recent Financial Times' article noted that beyond creating a caliphate in Iraq and Syria, ISIS is looking to strengthen its caliphate further afield and export terror to its perceived enemies beyond the Middle East. The recent attack in Jakarta and news reports of ISIS targeting locations in Kuala Lumpur have shown us that ISIS' global strategy includes hitting us, in our very own backyard here in Southeast Asia.

Many continue to travel to Iraq to Syria to fight for the ISIS cause in the Middle East. Most alarmingly, however, analysts have also pointed out that ISIS' tactics are also shifting. ISIS has been encouraging its supporters, some of whom had never travelled to the Middle East, to conduct attacks in their home cities. Without specific operational direction, lone wolves and small wolf packs have been inspired into action by ISIS' general call. Some have obtained weapons or explosives capable of causing mass casualties. This is clearly an alarming trend for Singapore.

In the wake of the recent series of attacks in various cities, militaries have stepped up, alongside law enforcement agencies, to respond to the heightened risk. Military patrols have also been deployed in countries, such as France, Belgium and Malaysia. So, my question is: what are MINDEF's and the SAF's roles in preventing and responding to terrorist attacks?

The Chairman : Mr Vikram Nair, you have two cuts. Please take them together.

SAF and Homeland Security

Mr Vikram Nair : First, on homeland security. Traditionally, SAF has focused its preparations on external threats while the Home Team has focused on homeland security matters. Thus far, the Home Team has done an excellent job in keeping Singapore safe and has anticipated and foiled a number of potential terrorist threats by identifying and arresting key people in time.

However, in the event of a major terror attack, say along the lines of Mumbai or Paris, which we hope will never happen in Singapore, but where the attack is large scale and the perpetrators are armed with firearms and bombs and hundreds are killed or injured, it may be necessary for the military to step in both to engage and eliminate the perpetrators as well as to restore public confidence.

I believe the military's role in homeland defence should be carefully calibrated, as deploying the military would send a clear message to the public that the threat is a serious one. If used for minor threats, the public may get the wrong message and get unduly worried or panic. On the other hand, if used in a situation where panic has already ensued following the attack, it may help calm the situation.

Are there any plans for SAF to step up its responses to homeland security to deal with threats, such as terrorism?

Cyber Threats

On cybercrime, recently, there was a shocking report that hackers had hacked into the Bangladeshi Central bank accounts in New York with the Federal Reserve and stolen some $101 million. An investigation by US cyber forensic expert Fire Eye revealed that much of this money had been channelled to accounts abroad, including places like the Philippines and Sri Lanka.

We understand that the hackers had originally tried to wire out more than $1 billion but the US Federal Reserve managed to block some $850 million of this from being transferred out. Sri Lanka has since managed to trace around $20 million and returned these sums. But the money channeled to the Philippines, amounting to some $80 million, still remains untraced.

Clearly, the figures that were transferred out were staggering and a demonstration of the power of hackers being able to get through government institutions. So, it is very clear that states can become victims of cybercrime. An equally worrying trend is that the power of hacking is also being harnessed by state actors, too, including countries that are supposed to be friendly with each other. News, for example, of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel's phone being hacked by the US National Security Agency created diplomatic tensions between countries that were otherwise very good friends. But this may be a microcosm of state-sponsored hacking that is probably happening elsewhere as well.

Given that cyber threats are on the rise and state actors can be both victims as well as the responsible parties, does MINDEF have plans to develop capabilities to counter this threat?

Cybersecurity

Mr Cedric Foo Chee Keng (Pioneer) : Mdm Chair, let me add to Mr Vikram Nair's cut on cybersecurity. As we know, e-commerce and communications have increased relevance in Singapore and we are becoming more and more reliant on it in the way we work, play and even in many aspects of the activities that we undertake. And particularly in Singapore, with our vision of becoming a smarter nation, cybersecurity is increasingly of concern.

The spectrum of cybercrime can range from highly sophisticated syndicates or to a lone wolf hacker or even a youngster who cannot just resist the chance to crack a password or hack a computer system. An example is the Singpass hacking incident back in 2014 where a man cracked some 300 user accounts and sold personal data to a gang based in China. The purpose? To apply for visas into Singapore. This man had hacked into the user accounts simply by guessing, I guess, through an algorithm, the login passwords of these users. It is fortunate in this case that the incident did not result in even more damage. Had the cyber perpetrator been a terrorist network, more harm could be inflicted.

I would like to ask the Minister how the various Government agencies and, in particular, MINDEF, coordinate with the newly formed Cyber Security Agency (CSA) under the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) and the Ministry of Communications and information (MCI) to strengthen Singapore's cybersecurity. What measures are in place to prevent them? And if an attack does occur, especially affecting essential services like energy, water and banking, how would we be able to respond to them? What are our disaster recovery plans and business continuity measures?

Cyber Defence

Mr Low Thia Khiang (Aljunied) : Madam, I note that SAF established a centralised Cyber Defence Operations Hub in 2013. Such capabilities are important today, given the network-centric nature of contemporary society and, indeed, military operations today. I have three sets of questions for MINDEF on these matters.

First, I would like to ask if MINDEF can assure the public on the readiness of SAF to handle cyber defence by explaining the types of threats it seeks to address. Cyberattacks need not simply be about conventional military operations. They can involve everything from gathering and corrupting sensitive information to disabling vulnerable civilian infrastructure, such as public utilities, communications, financial systems, emergency and medical response, business infrastructure and even transportation management systems. These actions can disrupt society and make it susceptible to pressure. How does MINDEF's cyber defence address these issues?

Second, what further capabilities does MINDEF intend to develop? How does MINDEF intend to ensure that Singapore is well-protected? Further, like other military systems, cyber defence capabilities may raise suspicions and tensions with neighbours that can, ultimately, make the nation less secure. How does MINDEF plan to mitigate this risk as it develops its cyber defence capabilities?

Lastly, cyber defence tools are powerful and hard to detect. How does MINDEF ensure that there is sufficient oversight of its systems to prevent inappropriate use by other individuals or Government agencies? Can MINDEF assure the public on this matter, such as by issuing an annual report or audit on cyber risks, breaches and mitigation efforts?

Defence Diplomacy

Mr Vikram Nair : Mdm Chair, defence diplomacy has been an important component of Singapore's defence strategy. While the Ministry of Foreign Affairs manages official diplomatic ties between countries, our armed forces have also played an important role in building relations with counterparts in other countries.

These ties have helped us get access to training spaces abroad, opportunities to train together with foreign armed forces and, perhaps most importantly, to build good relations with our counterparts and foreign militaries so that we will have friends should the need ever arise.

In this regard, two of the major powers that operate in this region are the US and China and both play an important role in the security and stability of the region. I was quite happy to know that Singapore has entered into a Defence Cooperation Agreement with the US as well as a Four-Point Consensus with China that will help deepen ties between these two countries. Can MINDEF provide an update on its defence relations with the US and China in the past year?

The Chairman : Mr Baey Yam Keng, you have three cuts. Please take them together.

Bilateral Defence Relations

Mr Baey Yam Keng (Tampines) : Mdm Chair, as a little red dot surrounded by much larger countries, Singapore's security is inextricably linked to our ties with our neighbours.

It is, therefore, for very good reasons that Singapore shares long-standing defence ties with Malaysia, Indonesia as well as Brunei. It is known that senior MINDEF and SAF officials meet with their counterparts regularly. SAF also engages in regular bilateral exercises, high-level visits and professional exchanges.

With changes in leadership, developments in geopolitical situation, set in the context of an evolving regional and international security scene, how have our ties kept up with the times and different priorities?

I would also like to ask MINDEF for an update on the state of our bilateral defence relationships with our immediate neighbours. What are some recent exchanges that have taken place and how have these enhanced the interests of Singapore?

Defence Relations with Australia

In June 2015, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and then-Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott signed the Singapore-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP). Under CSP, the two countries aim to deepen cooperation across four fields: trade and economics, foreign affairs, defence and security, and people-to-people ties through a roadmap known as Project 2025.

On defence and security, CSP will build on strong existing ties between Singapore and Australia's defence establishments. Singapore and Australia are part of the Five-Power Defence Arrangements and both countries' armed forces have deployed alongside each other in the Middle East. Australia currently hosts military training by the Singapore Army and RSAF.

At the signing of CSP, Prime Minister Lee announced that Singapore and Australia also intend to conclude a defence cooperation agreement in 2016. So, what are the defence implications of CSP and how is MINDEF working to enhance defence relations with Australia?

Multilateral Fora

Mdm Chair, the inaugural meeting of the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) was held in May 2006. It was set up as the highest defence consultative and cooperative mechanism in ASEAN. Four years later, ADMM-Plus was convened to serve as a platform for practical cooperation between ASEAN member states and eight dialogue partners, namely, Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation and the US. It has since met twice.

I would like to ask MINDEF if it could share why it engages other countries' defence establishments and militaries through these multilateral platforms. What has been achieved and what are some new areas of practical cooperation being explored through such multilateral fora? With the realisation of ASEAN Community 2015, how will ASEAN bring regional defence cooperation to new heights?

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Mdm Chair, I understand that one of the areas of cooperation under ADMM is on disaster relief and humanitarian assistance in order for more united and effective response when a disaster strikes the region. In that respect, can MINDEF share how ASEAN members have worked together in recent regional disasters like the Sabah earthquake?

The current regional security landscape is also characterised by non-traditional security challenges, such as maritime security and the rise of violence and brutality committed by extremist organisations and radical groups. How are the multilateral fora helping Singapore to be better prepared for these new challenges?

SAF's Approach to Defence Spending

Mr Zainal Sapari (Pasir Ris-Punggol) : Mdm Chair, the increasingly complex and volatile security environment has prompted defence spending in the region to increase. Likewise, Singapore needs to ensure that we are still as capable and as ready to respond to such threats.

Threats to our sovereignty as a proud nation should not be tolerated and our security should never be compromised. With that in mind, I would like to ask the Minister if SAF's approach to defence spending has changed. Are there plans to increase defence spending at a faster pace and what are the new areas that we are focusing on in our defence spending?

Defence White Paper

Mr Pritam Singh (Aljunied) : Mdm Chairperson, over a number of years, the publication of Defence White Papers has become an increasing phenomenon in the Asia Pacific region. China issued its first one in 1998 and Japan in 2005. When informing members of the public about the immediate security environment, the strategic direction of the military and its core mission, such white papers are effective in answering why there is a need to have a strong and determined force that is able to defend the sovereignty of the country.

However, what is sometimes not so well understood is the impact such white papers can have on improving and building confidence and trust among countries. In fact, before the latest 2016 Australian defence white paper was launched, Australia briefed China and Indonesia – two key partners – about its intention. In an S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) commentary this year, a local researcher noted that Australia's 2016 white paper sent a strong positive signal to Southeast Asia and potentially contributes to the region's stability and peace.

More than a decade ago, the ASEAN Regional Forum suggested that defence white papers be published and exchanged. It was quite telling that the former Minister for Defence, Mr Lee Boon Yang, in 1995, quoted verbatim a section of the Australian defence white paper in this House, as a measure of the good relations between the two countries. It is my view that the wider publication of such initiatives through a white paper would serve MINDEF's interests, both nationally and internationally.

MINDEF, as the largest consumer of the national Budget, will always be queried about the nature and scale of its defence expenditure. These demands will grow and are not likely to abate in the years to come. In fact, it is noteworthy that the section on MINDEF comprises only eight pages of the Government's expenditure control document for financial year (FY) 2016. In contrast, the section on the Ministry of Law, a far smaller Ministry budget-wise, has more than 40 pages long.

There is no requirement for MINDEF to release any secret information in the prospective White Paper. But the current state of affairs is more than opaque, especially in an economic environment post-SG50, which ought to be marked by greater fiscal prudence in light of multiple national priorities, all worthy of equal consideration. A White Paper will put into perspective MINDEF's mission and requirements the one hand, and its budgetary needs on the other, in the context of the needs of a small state.

Finally, Mdm Chairperson, some years ago, the Taiwanese even released a comic book version of their white paper to cultivate an interest in military service among young readers. While I am not suggesting a need to do this, the point is that a White Paper offers great flexibility for MINDEF to determine how best to get its message out. The Japanese experience with white papers is quite telling, as it moves from a limited paper in 2015 to a much more comprehensive one last year. A MINDEF White Paper can be even used to showcase the seriousness MINDEF takes in its safety regime, something I will talk about in my next cut.

Security Climate and Role of SAF

Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef (Marine Parade) : Madam, we live in an interconnected world, plagued by issues of terrorism, security threats, cyberattacks, technological warfare and many other undesirable activities. Not a month passes without some blasts, wars, disputes somewhere, which affect many innocent citizens. These are all major concerns for nations, including Singapore. National militaries around the world are all on high alert.

How does MINDEF ensure our armed forces stay relevant and attuned to the changing security environment and climate, with the background of all these challenges? How prepared are we to respond to such threats as a small nation with a small army? What are the other roles our personnel can play to help step up deterrence levels?

The Chairman : Ms Jessica Tan, please take your two cuts together.

The SAF Today and Its Capability

Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo (East Coast) : Madam, with rising affluence, procuring the latest technologies and capabilities does not give us a sustainable edge. The SAF does pride itself in possessing cutting-edge capabilities. While the SAF does procure equipment and platforms from overseas, it has also been building Singapore's local defence science and technology capabilities through investments in personnel, facilities, technology and research and development (R&D) in complex defence systems.

What is the range of the local defence technology capabilities that we have? How are these capabilities contributing to the technology edge and indigenous technology science capabilities of SAF? And with the competing demands on engineering talent at the national level, what efforts is MINDEF making to ensure that it continues to have the required engineering talent and capabilities to build on our indigenous defence, science and technology capabilities?

Overseas Training

We have seen heightened security concerns in the region and globally. With greater uncertainty and a wider spectrum of threats, including conventional as well as asymmetric threats, such as terrorism and cyber warfare, how then does the SAF ensure that our defence forces are operationally ready? What is the operational value of regular training that SAF conducts overseas? In what ways do these trainings give us the assurance that they, indeed, prepare our forces?

What is the objective of these overseas exercises in countries like the US, Australia, Germany, France and New Zealand? These countries differ in many aspects from our local and regional conditions, such as climate, landscape and vegetation. Such overseas training exercises do impact citizen soldiers as well as cost of operations. What is the SAF doing to ensure that our society will continue to support this commitment to defence?

To participate in such overseas exercises, our soldiers will need to be away from their families and work. While we need to achieve training effectiveness, how does the SAF balance the impact on work, family and opportunities for our citizen soldiers? With the disruption, pace of change and the need for continual learning and skills upgrading, how would the SAF respond to support our citizen soldiers as they face these changes in competing demands with the need of overseas training and operational requirements?

SAF's Role in Military Operations Other Than War (MOOTW)

Mr Cedric Foo Chee Keng : Mdm Chair, my cut is on SAF's role in Military Operations Other Than War (MOOTW). SAF was established in 1965, as Members know, a necessity created by Singapore's Independence, with the primary focus on providing for Singapore's external defence.

Today, our 3rd Generation SAF is widely known to be well-equipped to defend Singapore against external threats. The SAF is well-respected as a strong and professional armed forces. It underwrites Singapore's sovereignty upon which all Singaporeans can live in peace and secure in the knowledge that Singapore is well-protected.

However, the threats facing Singapore have broadened beyond conventional war to areas like counter-terrorism, piracy and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR). Although the SAF has participated in many MOOTW operations, I believe the training syllabus of full-time National Servicemen (NSFs) and NSmen is still largely based on conventional armed conflict.

So, I would like the Minister to help us to understand how the SAF is preparing to confront the new challenges that I have described. How well is the SAF prepared as regards intelligence, technology and equipment to deal with counter-terrorism? Also, would the SAF be called upon to augment the Home Team in counter-terrorism operations over and above the protection of key installations, which I understand the SAF does today?

In 2015, Singapore assisted in various missions, such as fighting forest fires in Chiang Mai, Thailand and Sumatra, and also search-and-rescue operations in Nepal as a result of the earthquake. Many Singaporeans are proud of our SAF and the Home Team personnel who participated in these HADR efforts. Given that disasters will occur every now and then, whether here or abroad, I would like to ask the Minister if the SAF has sufficiently trained personnel to deploy in the event of major disasters in the region or around the world.

SAF Transformation

Mr Zainal Sapari : Madam, each Singaporean knows that we cannot take our security for granted. Situations today are increasingly volatile and news of newfound threats always seems to be getting a little closer to home. Understandably, this will cause some worry amongst our citizens. Today's threats do not present themselves until the last minute and, by the time they do, we have seen how it is often just a little too late in other countries.

While the SAF may be prepared to defend Singapore against today's threats, these threats – like everything else – will continue to evolve as well. Our approach to defence has not been about keeping up, but always ensuring that we are not one but several steps ahead. This provides us with the two-pronged benefit of deterring those who may mean to harm us, and also ensuring that we are able to react swiftly and decisively to any threat.

I would like to ask the Minister how the SAF is developing its capabilities to protect Singapore against the threats of the future. Can MINDEF provide an update on the SAF's transformation plans?

As our threats evolve, so should our defence capabilities. The consequences of failure on this part are extremely grave and we cannot afford to be complacent on this issue.

SAF's Manpower and Capabilities

Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef : Madam, a certain critical or minimum size is usually necessary for a nation's army. Our population replacement rate for Singapore is critically low and, with this, fewer babies are born each year. This also will translate to fewer recruits per cohort for National Service. How can SAF maintain our capabilities and capacity in view of these "shrinking" manpower numbers? How do we ensure we can maximise their potential?

We have also strategically, over the years, developed our capabilities in terms of a 4G-SAF and specialisation skillsets. Technological capabilities and enhancements have also been very active as well. Is this investment in technology and IT able to help us cope and compensate for our decreasing manpower numbers?

The Minister for Defence (Dr Ng Eng Hen) : Mdm Chair, first, let me thank the many Members who have highlighted the security challenges that confront Singapore today. I think they have made their points eloquently, many valid points and accurate observations. Collectively, they bring home this truth that as much as all of us want peace, work for greater cooperation and understanding among countries, neither the world nor the region we live in is Utopia; that each generation of Singaporeans will face threats, and each generation will have to renew their commitment to protect what they value or lose it; that we can only depend on ourselves to defend Singapore; that we will need to work with other like-minded partners to deal with potential troubles along the way. Singapore and Singaporeans will have to gear up for "troubled peace" in this new era after SG50.

Each generation of Singaporeans will have to confront their own security threats. The founding generation, as Mr Vikram Nair pointed out, did not have it easy. Indeed, the 1960s and 1970s, as he said, were tumultuous times in Asia and, especially, for Southeast Asia. Whether it was Konfrontasi or the ideological battles against communism and communalism, these contests often led to violence or subversion. And because Southeast Asian states were newly-minted nations in the 1960s and 1970s, only recently freed from their colonial past, individual nations were more preoccupied with their national agendas, rather than cooperating as a region.

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Geopolitics today has improved, and we talked about ASEAN. ASEAN is an accepted regional community in international dynamics. ASEAN has good growth and strong relations with other countries. But despite this progress, as Members have said, challenges exist. Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef noted that we live in an interconnected world. And, indeed, what happens in some other part of the world, many Members have said that it occurs very far away but comes closer to home, as Mr Zainal Sapari said, whether it is terrorism or technological warfare. And as Mr Vikram Nair noted, there have been numerous developments recently in the South China Sea, more terrorist attacks, and a sophisticated cyberattack involving the US Federal Reserve.

Members have asked key questions − Mr Vikram Nair, Mr Pritam Singh, Mr Zaqy Mohamad, Mr Low Thia Khiang, Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef, Ms Low Yen Ling, Mr Cedric Foo and Mr Zainal Sapari. In summary, they asked: what are the main security threats to Singapore and how significant are they when compared to previous years? How is the SAF responding to these threats? How can we keep Singapore and Singaporeans safe? How prepared are we? These are all important questions that can change our lives here irrevocably. I agree completely with Mr Zainal Sapari when he said that the consequences of failure will be great. So, I intend to answer these questions in the course of this reply for the Committee of Supply (COS).

First, terrorism. The clear and present threat upon us is terrorism. As of now, there is no specific intelligence of any imminent plot against Singapore, but the general assessment by our intelligence agencies indicates that almost all cities are likely targets, including Singapore. Members here already know of attacks in other cities in the past 18 months – Paris, Sydney, San Bernardino, Istanbul, Bangkok, Jakarta, Brussels and, most recently, Lahore. A few months later, you may have to add more cities to that list. Threat levels for Singapore from ISIS are higher than those posed by Al-Qaeda (AQ) and Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) when they were active. So, if you would like a simple number, what Al-Qaeda was able to attract − both sympathisers and operatives − in the last 10 years, ISIS has already exceeded the number in the last three years. So, our assessment is that the threat levels from ISIS are higher than that from AQ and JI. Let me explain our reasons for this assessment.

First, ISIS has greater means. ISIS controls territories and oil fields in Iraq and Syria from which they can draw resources to fund tens of thousands of fighters and further its goals. ISIS even uses drones for its operations, like a military. In fact, they are a military. They can orchestrate and coordinate attacks far away, as they did in Paris, Brussels or even near us, Jakarta. Their tentacles can reach far. Just this week, the Malaysian Police revealed that ISIS had allocated around S$100,000 to Katibah Nusantara − a network that Mr Vikram Nair pointed out. It is a Malay Archipelago Combat Unit, and ISIS had given them S$100,000 to finance terrorist attacks and bombings in Southeast Asia.

ISIS operatives and sympathisers have already formed networks in our region, as some Members have observed. In the past year, close to a thousand people from Southeast Asia have travelled to Iraq and Syria to join the fight, including Singaporeans. And more have been radicalised without even travelling to the Middle East. Most recently, Members would have read that four Singaporeans were prevented from joining the armed conflicts in the Middle East. As Members have pointed out, returning fighters will bring back their extremist ideology, share their experience in weapons, explosives and actual fighting. In addition, we know that they have linked up with existing cells, like the JI offshoot, Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid, and Abu Sayyaf. Greater means, as I said.

Second, ISIS has motive. In our region, ISIS has declared its mission to establish a wilayat, a "caliphate", and Katibah Nusantara is leading the charge. This central ideology of a Southeast Asian "caliphate" binds Islamic militants who have already set up training camps in Sulawesi, Aceh and in the Southern Philippines. Even the Uighurs are known to have joined a training camp in Sulawesi, led by the Indonesian militant, Santoso. I am not sure what the tenuous connections had been previously between militants in Indonesia and the Uighurs, but here, you have it − that ideology binds them together.

In this narrative, Singapore is an attractive target. Last year, Dabiq − "Dabiq" is an English-language newsletter published by ISIS − named Singapore among the "enemies of the Islamic State" and called on followers to wage jihad against us.

Third, ISIS has opportunity. Every shopping mall, every crowded place is an opportunity for violent extremists to target innocent civilians and cause as much suffering and mayhem as possible. ISIS operatives and sympathisers, especially what we call "clean skins" – those with no prior criminal record – can travel and smuggle components of arms and explosives. Changi Airport received over 55 million passengers last year, and many more crossed land and sea checkpoints of Singapore. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has stepped up security checks, but the terrorists only need to succeed once.

Under these circumstances, can Singapore – or, for that matter, any city – guarantee its residents that no extremist attack will occur? I think the answer is an obvious one. Only a foolish and complacent government will provide that false sense of security. Instead, we must step up our defences, bring our citizens into confidence and, more importantly, confront this threat and prepare to deal with the aftermath together.

I will elaborate on how SAF will respond to this. But even as we ask Singaporeans to prepare ourselves to deal with extremist threats, let me just say that we must be mindful, at the same time, of the trajectory of state-to-state relations surrounding us. As Members have pointed out, the disputes in the South China Sea and East China Sea are increasing. They are symptomatic of a more powerful dynamic of strategic rivalry and rising nationalism. This state of flux, different from post-World War II, different from the Cold War, is creating tension. This dynamic will stress existing military cooperation and alliances; it will stress international agreements or laws, even the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Let me give a few examples to illustrate what I mean.

On a regular basis, Japanese fighter jets scramble in response to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) military aircraft that enter Japan's Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ). The PLA planes are flying into disputed airspace around the Diao Yu/Senkaku Islands. So, the Japanese would have to respond, and they scramble. It is a common occurrence.

Let me give Members a second example. The largest overlap in the South China Sea claims is between Vietnam's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and China's "nine dash line". Members would recall that just two years ago, Vietnamese and Chinese vessels clashed over an oil rig in the South China Sea. And you would remember that, in Vietnam, they held protests and burned down foreign-owned factories, meaning to target Chinese-owned factories. Unfortunately, some Taiwanese factories also got burnt. They could not differentiate. They hear them speak in Mandarin, and so, they got burnt. Just recently, the Vietnamese coast guard seized a Chinese oil tanker allegedly operating in Vietnam's waters. And for the first time ever − if you have not noticed this − a Japanese submarine arrived in Cam Ranh International Port. It called in Vietnam last month for the first time.

An example closer to home: the Indonesian Government has also taken a hard stance against illegal fishing in its EEZ. Since President Joko Widodo took office in 2014, Indonesia has confiscated and destroyed approximately 150 foreign fishing boats. Just last month, there was a standoff between the Chinese coast guard and an Indonesian patrol vessel. Indonesia has since announced plans to deploy fighter jets to the Natuna Islands. And supposedly, as a show of strength, military ships of the Indonesian National Defence Forces (TNI) are used to blow up these merchant vessels. It is not the most cost-effective solution. Military munitions cost more but, as a show of strength, they will use TNI to blow up the vessels.

As we observed, these incidents are occurring at an increasing regularity. We have to remember that they occur against the backdrop of Asia's highest military spending ever. In fact, collectively, Asia has spent more on its defence than Europe, in absolute dollars, since 2012. We have exceeded Europe. Rising nationalism and improving economies have fuelled many Asian countries to spend larger and larger sums to modernise their militaries. In itself, this is not wrong. But with more capable militaries, miscalculations or missteps can precipitate serious tensions and even physical conflicts.

As we look around and look at our security challenges, this troubled peace around us reaffirms our policy on steady and prudent defence spending. Mr Zainal Sapari asked about this, as well as Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef. I want to thank Members from all parties here – Non-Constituency Members of Parliament (NCMPs) included – for their steadfast support for the defence budgets over the years. Together, Members in this House were wise not to have taken short periods of peace for granted. As some Members have pointed out, Singapore, too, could have gone down the path of European countries to reap our own "peace dividend" because the threat of communism had waned and we see ASEAN progressing. But if we had been so lulled into that complacent mood and under-invested in defence capabilities, then, just like countries, such as Finland or the Baltic states, I think we would have regretted it now and rushed to catch up. But we avoided spikes or dips in our defence spending and maintained a strong SAF.

The next decade would not be easy for Singapore. In fact, I believe that the next few decades will pose to Singapore its greatest challenge since our Independence. We have never had a situation where our factors of production are on the decline and our needs are going up. Even in the 1960s and 1970s, when our needs were going up, we reaped our demographic dividend. But in 2030, we will have nearly one million people above 65 years old, our workforce is declining and our social spending needs to go up.

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But even as our population ages and social spending increases, we must maintain steady defence spending because that is the most effective way to stretch every defence dollar. It allows us to plan long term. It allows us to avoid disruptive changes from fluctuating expenditures. It is very difficult, as Mr Sapari has pointed out, and other countries have discovered, to suddenly wake up and say, "Oh, I need a stronger defence because the threats have gone worse" and then quickly expect to build a strong defence. It will be too little, too late.

This PAP Government will continue to invest wisely and spend prudently on defence. For MINDEF, we buy only what the SAF needs, and after a robust and stringent evaluation process. We do not go around shopping for expensive or highly sophisticated stuff. We adopt the most cost-effective solution, looking clearly at what we need. And our first preference is to upgrade existing platforms, if we can do it. For example, like the F-16s, we are going to upgrade them. We only buy new equipment if Singapore needs them to maintain that defence edge.

Some Members have asked how I see our defence expenditure going forward. Our defence expenditure has roughly kept pace with inflation, growing by about 4% annually in nominal terms over the past decade. I expect to maintain the same trajectory in the longer term, but we have to watch inflation and see if there is deflation or lower rise of inflation. Sometimes, it does not get passed on to the equipment we buy so quickly. So, we have to observe.

Is this era of troubled peace hyped up? Some have said so. Some have questioned: do we really need that kind of defence? The US, the world's most wealthy democracy with the largest and most capable military, can perhaps take that line and live with the consequences, if something goes wrong. But for Singapore, a little red dot in the middle of a region with extremist threats, rising nationalism and strategic rivalry, we should guard against the worst and prepare ahead.

Indeed, some scholars and even world leaders have suggested that the face of "war" has already changed and is upon us. According to them, unlike in the past when wars were fought in specific localities, today's conflicts are increasingly borderless, and occur wave after wave. So, against extremism, first there was AQ, 9/11. That was weakened. Now, ISIS. But if ISIS is defeated, I believe another group will rise to take its place. It may not be in Iraq or Syria but there is a host of failed states that an extremist group can gain a geographical foothold in and take the resources, whether it is Libya or other countries.

In cyberattacks and biological pandemics, ground-zero can be anywhere. We were worried about bird flu in Indonesia; for the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), it was in some parts of the world; Zika virus in some countries; it can arise anywhere and spread very far quickly. This troubled peace, according to this new narrative, is the new normal in our globalised world.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad talked about hybrid warfare that is ongoing. Indeed, it is the antithesis of Total Defence. And if you think about it, that generation was prescient and very clever in launching Total Defence – this was more than 30 years ago – because hybrid warfare is an orchestrated campaign to weaken and fracture the solidarity of a target nation. It is no laughing matter because it is actually being practised.

According to this doctrine, the aggressor targets a specific country or countries and undertakes a long-term campaign to undermine the civil, economic, social, psychological and military defences. That is equivalent to our Total Defence. For example, ISIS employs hybrid warfare skilfully and exploits social media in sophisticated ways to target the young and innocent. Even online games, which seemingly are innocent, are used to socialise youngsters to their cause, and the shocking propaganda videos of beheadings and burning people go viral and attract more sympathisers.

Members have talked about cyberattacks. Cyber attacks are integral parts of hybrid warfare. Last December, unidentified hackers attacked Ukraine's power grid and disrupted electricity to a large part of the country for hours. Just imagine our power grid is down, traffic lights are out, power stations fail – you can gut out the country quite easily.

Adversaries can, therefore, cripple key operating systems of target countries, steal their state and people's secrets, invade the hearts and minds of their people, all without stepping foot onto their soil. Singapore is particularly susceptible to hybrid threats because we are an open economy and connected to the world.

Members here have asked how the SAF should respond in this new normal of troubled peace. I am glad to say that there was foresight in leaders in MINDEF and the SAF to have identified these broad challenges more than a decade ago. It was, as Mr Cedric Foo pointed out, that the previous SAF construct could not have addressed this wider spectrum of threats decisively because the previous structures of the SAF, as Members here know, centred on combined arms within the Army, with a competent Air Force and Navy. They would have been inadequate to deal with non-traditional security challenges – natural disasters or hybrid threats, such as cyberattacks or terrorism. But as Members have pointed out, the spectrum of today's threats continues to widen and evolve and the SAF must adapt. Let me share what the SAF is doing to respond decisively.

With your permission, Mdm Chairman, let me display an infographic on the screens to show how SAF is stepping up for counter-terrorism.

The Chairman: Yes, please. [ Slides were shown to hon Members. ]

Since 9/11, the SAF has stood up task forces to deal with peacetime threats. These task forces are geared up in high readiness posture, fully manned to respond quickly even with little warning. Let me elaborate on these task forces. The Special Operations Task Force (SOTF) is drawn from the Commandos, the Naval Diving Unit and assets from across the three Services and they will be our SAF's first responders in counter-terrorism and other contingency operations. There is another task force for homeland security and this is called the Island Defence Task Force and it is operational. In other words, it safeguards our homeland security with active and NS servicemen protecting key installations. You would have seen them if you are in Changi Airport, if you are working in Jurong Island and Sembawang Wharves. They regularly conduct patrols with the Home Team and, because they are tasked to deal with real threats, they are armed and given clear rules of engagement.

At sea, the Maritime Security Task Force protects our waterways, and the Air Defence Task Force keeps a close watch over our skies. After the 2008 Mumbai attacks, our response plans were again strengthened to tighten our linkages with home-front and other Government agencies.

We have assessed, as we said, the rising threat of terrorism. In the next few months, the SAF will redouble our efforts to gear up for counter-terrorism. First, studying what happened in Paris, Jakarta and Brussels, the SAF will enhance its incident response. The SOTF must have the capability to respond even faster when activated, and have the means to neutralise armed attackers, in addition to hostage rescue.

Some Members have asked: can we use technology? Indeed, we have to and we must. The SAF is working with our defence engineers and scientists to equip these special forces with better tactical sensors like micro-Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), perhaps small enough to fit in your palm and well-suited for urban terrain. We will continue to develop new technologies and tools that will give the SAF an edge in this fight against terror.

In this, working with the Home Team closely and seamlessly is crucial if we are to bring to bear the full strength of our security capabilities. SAF is working closely to share intelligence and develop joint operational command systems. We are conducting more joint exercises together. Last year, Exercise High Crest was conducted to validate our whole-of-Government response to simultaneous maritime security threats. In that exercise, various agencies, the Singapore Police Force (SPF), the Home Team, SAF, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA), worked together to intercept a terrorist speedboat, storm a hijacked merchant vessel and deal with the aftermath.

Second, more SAF units will be trained to take on a wider range of security tasks. We do not assume, as Ms Low Yen Ling says, that attacks will only be carried out by lone wolves or wolf packs – smaller groups – like those which occurred in Jakarta. We must be able to deal with orchestrated attacks, like those which occurred in Paris and Brussels, where airports, mass rapid transit (MRT) stations, shopping malls and town centres are targeted simultaneously. To deal with these scenarios, more SAF units will be trained to conduct deterrence patrols in populous areas. These units will be better equipped to perform their tasks. So, for example, we commissioned last year the Peacekeeper Protected Response Vehicle (PRV), which will give our responders greater mobility, protection and more precise firepower to deal decisively with threats.

How do we train? I think that is a question that some Members asked, including Mr Cedric Foo. I agree with Members that for SAF soldiers to competently undertake this range of missions, we will have to continue to invest in new and realistic training facilities. SAF has decided to build a new high-density urban training facility and this will have features, such as high-rise buildings, mock-up transport nodes and complex road networks. And that will provide a highly realistic training ground for counter-terrorism as well as conventional urban operations.

But as some Members rightly pointed out, beyond our homeland response here, we need to address the threat at its source. Because only when the source of the threat and recruitment is diminished or eradicated, can the situation here improve. It was so for AQ. If we did not address or diminish the capability of AQ, more cells like JI would flourish. This is why Singapore has been involved in multinational counter-terrorism operations since 2007, first, against AQ in Afghanistan, and now against ISIS.

Last year, the SAF deployed our KC-135R tanker to support air-to-air refuelling operations, and we also deployed an Imagery Analysis Team (IAT). This IAT is tasked to monitor suspected terrorist facilities and activities to help the coalition partners in disrupting supply chains that feed terror networks here. The commanders there have commended our efforts and asked the SAF to continue the IAT deployment which we have extended for another year this year.

Even as the SAF gears up for troubled peace and the present threat of terrorism, the SAF will continue to conduct realistic exercises at a high tempo to maintain a strong deterrence. Members, such as Ms Jessica Tan, have asked about this, whether they are important. I will tell Members that they are very important because that is where we can validate our capabilities. Singapore is not very large to train in. My Terrexes can go at 70-90 kilometres/hour. Training exercises might be finished in 15 minutes if you are going at that speed.

We need the large space because we have so many platforms, so many different units working to bring it together and say, "Would it work? Can we talk? Can we hit a moving target? Can we orchestrate and how quickly? Can we learn from the mistakes?"

So, we need the places, as we do in the US in Exercise Forging Sabre, and Exercise Wallaby in Australia and Exercise Cope Tiger in Thailand, not only to validate our systems, but in joint exercises to benchmark our own capabilities and to show others our capabilities. Because when the SAF is able to perform in exercises, people will take us seriously.

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We will continue these exercises and we want to make sure that they are mindful of NSmen's commitments. Even the NSmen who have gone, when I talked to them after their exercises, they feel motivated. They feel, "Oh, I did something, I can manoeuvre here". I remember visiting some of them in Bionixes, and they said, "Here I can manoeuvre a lot, whereas in Singapore, you know, it is short circuits".

Most recently, the SAF took over command of the Combined Task Force 151 for the fourth time for our counter-piracy efforts. Some Members have pointed out that piracy has occurred in the Straits of Malacca as well as the South China Sea. We believe that we should help contain piracy in any part of the world and, so, we are in the Gulf of Aden.

As Members have pointed out, we may be called to help in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) missions and peace support operations like the Nepal earthquake and the forest fires in Chiang Mai and Palembang, and we will train for that – something which Mr Cedric Foo asked about. We will look at not only training, but set-up structures, which is why we started the Regional HADR Coordination Centre in Changi.

Some of you have asked about shrinking manpower pools and how we can address this. I think Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef noted the demographic trends and Ms Jessica Tan asked how technology can continue to be used to maintain the SAF's edge. I agree with the Members that it is a vital tool, without which we cannot multiply our efforts.

Ms Jessica Tan asked how we can continue to compete for defence engineering scholars. First of all, we will compete. I want my unfair share. SAF wants its unfair share. We will introduce a new SAF Engineering Scholarship to attract bright young individuals with the interest and commitment to join SAF as military engineers. Just as with the recipients of the SAF Scholarship, those who take up this SAF Engineering Scholarship will be able to depart for their university studies earlier, so that, on their return, they can apply their specialised skills and knowledge to the SAF as military engineers. This is important because they will form the next generation of leaders in our engineering corps to ensure that we maintain an edge in defence technology.

Some Members – Mr Pritam Singh and Mr Zainal Sapari – have asked about hardware. We will continue to refresh and upgrade platforms at a sustainable pace. This is in lieu of a White Paper. Our SAF is not very big that there will be much more information that I can give in the White Paper than what I am telling Members here. So, if Members see what we have in Changi Naval Base, see what we have in Sungei Gedong, see what we have in the airbases, it is all there.

The fact that we primarily raise the SAF for deterrence, people understand. And we make friends with other people. We are not quite like Australia, which I think needs a White Paper for now and then to, as Mr Pritam Singh say, show others. For Singapore, for the SAF, we make friends with everyone and our defence is purely for deterrence.

The Navy is acquiring eight versatile Littoral Mission Vessels (LMVs) to replace our long-serving Patrol Vessels. The first LMV, Independence, was launched in July last year and is expected to be operational by early next year. We have two new Type 218SG submarines. I will tell Members that the development is on track. They will replace the ageing Challenger-class submarines and should be commissioned by 2020.

This year, the Army will also launch a new Protected Combat Support Vehicle to provide better protection and mobility for our supporting troops. For RSAF, our Super Pumas and some of our Chinooks are ageing and will need to be replaced. We are finalising our evaluations and expect the new RSAF helicopters soon. We will announce it when we finish the evaluations. For the F-16s, as I have said, we are upgrading them with more advanced radars – the Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars – and air-to-ground weapons.

The SAF will deploy more unmanned platforms, beyond what we already have – the UAVs, so that manpower resources can be freed up for other missions. The Navy envisages that unmanned vessels may eventually complement our ships to patrol our waterways and clear underwater mines. Likewise, our Army may use Unmanned Ground Vehicles to conduct security patrols.

Mr Vikram Nair, Mr Low Thia Khiang and Mr Cedric Foo asked about our cyber defences – well put questions. We consider this threat as a very serious one. It can potentially be more destructive than even physical intrusion, because it can disrupt our key installations. I would say that this is also a national priority. Nationally, the Cyber Security Agency (CSA) was launched last year under the aegis of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO); overseeing is PMO and Deputy Prime Minister Teo who oversees the National Security Coordination Secretariat (NSCS). Some of the Members' specific questions on national security should be put to that agency.

But for the SAF, as Mr Low rightly pointed out, what we set up recently was a Cyber Defence Operations Hub (CDOH). We will have to increase the headcount. I will not give Members the exact numbers but I will just say that we will double the headcount by 2020.

Cyber intrusions occur daily. For those in this business, it is not tens; it is not hundreds; it is not thousands; it is hundreds of thousands or millions of network event logs. You use algorithms, smart software, to try to remove the bulk of them and identify suspected intrusions. But what you are worried about are not the ones that sort of deface your page and make you lose face but does not really affect you. What you are worried about is cyber attack, things that can burrow into your systems, steal secrets or have a trigger at a particular time to render you defenceless.

This is of national importance. There is structure, there is organisation, and much of it is what we call "security by design". You design security into your networks even as you build them. You can address these questions, as I have said, at the national level to CSA.

For the SAF, we expect to use more artificial intelligence and better data analytics to detect and respond to these cyber threats. We will build greater security into our software design, shore up the defences in our network architecture to make them more resistant and resilient to cyberattacks. This includes hardware infrastructure. There will also be substantial investment into developing more and better-trained cyber defence personnel. The SAF will work with the national CSA.

We spend a significant amount of our resources to maintain a strong defence but, even so, Singapore cannot face our security threats alone. It is foolhardy to try, and we will fail. For example, to stop the spread of terrorism globally, we are stepping up our intelligence-sharing with our neighbours in Malaysia and Indonesia, and partners, such as the US and Australia, so that they can provide us with early warning and help us apprehend suspects that intend to do us harm. This is particularly important as militants have been using Southeast Asia as a transit point.

Beyond intelligence, we continue to build up enduring partnerships to strengthen regional security. Mr Baey Yam Keng and Mr Vikram Nair asked about our defence diplomacy efforts. We are friends with all and we cultivate relations with all, and we continue to build good ties with our closest neighbours, the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) and the TNI, the Indonesian National Defence Forces. We will also be celebrating the 40th anniversary of our defence relations with Brunei this year.

Mr Vikram Nair asked about China and the US. Last December, US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and I concluded the enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement. This agreement updates and deepens our defence ties to cover non-conventional security areas, such as counter-terrorism, biosecurity and cyber defence. It is that close relationship with the US which has given us access to much-needed training space and high-end defence technology. Whether it is our F-16, F-15, Chinook or Apache helicopters, our pilots train extensively in the US and they are given access to training areas many times the size of Singapore.

Mr Nair asked about China. We agreed on a Four-Point Consensus for our military ties in 2014, to "promote confidence building… and strengthen practical cooperation". With China, we introduced a new bilateral naval exercise series named Maritime Cooperation last year. We will build on these initiatives to encourage China to continue to play a peaceful and constructive role in the region.

Mr Baey Yam Keng asked about Australia, on the CSP. The defence relationship is a very important one. Many SAF servicemen go to Exercise Wallaby, train in sizeable areas and we hope that this partnership will take us even further in personnel exchanges, counter-terrorism and R&D collaborations, through CSP that the two Prime Ministers endorsed last year.

Apart from our bilateral efforts, some Members have asked, as Mr Baey Yam Keng did, about the Shangri-La Dialogue and ADMM. Some Members have asked why we engage in these. To paraphrase Churchill, "jaw-jaw is better than war-war". Yes, this requires effort but, more importantly, coming together as a defence community promotes a rules-based security architecture, things that we can agree on, that are underpinned by international law and which create opportunities for dialogue and practical cooperation. Sometimes, it helps us, as some Members rightly pointed out, in responding to contingencies and crises like HADR.

But let me nuance that. We are not NATO. It will take us a long time before we think of ourselves to be anything like NATO, and I am not even sure if the NATO structure is optimal for ASEAN. We cooperate in partnerships with the understanding that it cannot mean that you subsume your sovereignty or your control of your military forces to other countries. It just will not work in ASEAN.

Where we can, we will cooperate and have dialogue. For example, the ADMM-Plus Maritime Security and Counter-Terrorism Exercise will be conducted this year, which Singapore will co-organise. It will involve 18 militaries and build trust among one another and reduce the risk of mishaps at sea.

Mdm Chair, Total Defence was launched more than 30 years ago, as Mr Zaqy Mohamad pointed out. But the threat that we now face from extremist groups like ISIS makes Total Defence more relevant than ever. Because just as damaging as physical harm, extremists can sow deep mistrust among Singaporeans and weaken our social cohesion.

The crucial question is this: after an extremist attack, will it splinter our society? Will it paralyse Singaporeans and sow discord through fear? We want to hear what Singaporeans hope to do to strengthen Total Defence and encourage more ground-up ideas. Senior Minister of State Mohamad Maliki and Senior Minister of State Ong Ye Kung are leading these efforts and will share more about our SGFuture engagements later.

Mr Pritam Singh asked if MINDEF or SAF should do more, whether it is a Defence White Paper or other aspects, to shore up support by Singaporeans and external countries in terms of our defence capabilities or defence intentions. I think that is a noble goal. How we do it effectively, we can discuss. But I would say that we conduct periodic polls – these are sometimes population surveys. Thankfully, the support for defence has been very high. In last August's polls, 97% of Singaporean respondents felt that the Government had performed well in defence and national security.

At the core of Total Defence is societal trust – trust among one another as citizens, trust between commanders and soldiers, trust between the Government and people, trust between the SAF and those we promise to protect.

The SAF knows that it can only build this trust by living by its values. One core value which all soldiers pledge is to defend Singapore with their lives. SAF commanders and soldiers must put Singapore and Singaporeans first, above their own well-being, whether it is in training or operations.

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Six years ago, both engines of one of our Apache helicopters failed mid-flight. Apache has got two engines; both failed. For MAJ Adrian Quek and MAJ Spencer Ler, let me just say, it would not be an exaggeration to say that probably their lives flashed before their eyes and their lives were at actual risk – it could have been their last flight. But they acted professionally and, as every airman is taught, ensured that civilian lives were not put at risk, even if it meant endangering their own.

They glided in free fall from 10,000 feet, reached the ground in two minutes. In the meantime, while they were in free fall, they manoeuvred the helicopter down to an open field away from buildings. The pilots survived and, more importantly, no civilians were injured.

We see this duty to put others before self, exemplified by our own NSFs. Three years ago, LTA Kamalasivam, put his life on the line to save a recruit during a live grenade exercise. The recruit had accidentally released the hand grenade lever. As many Members here who have done National Service know, when you release the lever, you throw the grenade, because that is when the grenade is activated. He released it. This officer did not panic, immediately instructed the recruit to throw the grenade, then shielded the recruit as he pulled both of them down behind the concrete walls. Fortunately, both escaped with minor wounds.

I wish I could promise Singaporeans that risks do not exist for our SAF soldiers who are asked to protect Singaporeans, who are asked to train hard and conduct missions. But all of you know that risks exist for all militaries – whether it is helicopters, infantry or ships. We will do all that we can to carry out our training and missions safely, because each life in Singapore is precious.

Ultimately, I would say, for the SAF, the lives of Singaporeans must come first. [ A slide was shown to hon Members ] That is MAJ Quek and MAJ Ler, and that is LTA Kamalasivam receiving the SAF Medal for Distinguished Act on SAF Day. He was an NSman; after the incident, he decided to sign on and be a regular. I am very happy he joined the SAF. These two pilots and this officer exemplify the core value of selfless service in the SAF.

Mdm Chair, in this troubled peace, the SAF will train hard, prepare well and continually adapt to protect Singapore. I again ask and thank Members of this House and Singaporeans for their unstinting support and commitment to maintain our strong defence. With Singaporeans strongly behind and with us, the SAF will respond decisively to all those who seek to do us harm and protect this precious island we call home.

Training and Learning Systems

Mr Lee Yi Shyan (East Coast) : Mdm Chair, as the Minister for Defence has just assured the House, SAF is respected as a strong and professional armed forces. In addition to having cutting-edge capabilities, a key element in maintaining a strong and professional armed forces is effective training.

At MINDEF's COS debate in 2015, Minister Ng Eng Hen also said that the SAF had consistently benchmarked with militaries from other advanced countries and tested its systems through realistic training and real operations. He also discussed ways in which MINDEF and SAF had been prudent in their land use for training space.

Given Singapore's land constraints and the increasing complexity in the battlefield, in what new ways is SAF improving its training and learning systems in a way that overcomes resource constraints? How is SAF ensuring that our servicemen maintain a high-level of operational readiness?

The Chairman : Mr Pritam Singh, you have two cuts. Please take them together.

NS Training System

Mr Pritam Singh : Mdm Chairperson, the NS training system has come a long way, helped in no small part by MINDEF's readiness to take on board the inputs of NSmen and their families. It bears repeating that NSmen are frontline soldiers and training must be taken seriously. However, for some soldiers, there are some areas of the NS training cycle that can be improved, subject to operational and budgetary exigencies.

One suggestion is to consider how more NSmen can be deployed to the NS units more quickly than before; ideally not more than two years after their operationally-ready date. This would have the advantage of ensuring that the fitness levels of NSmen remain relatively high with a less steep physical training curve when preparing for the Individual Physical Proficiency Tests (IPPTs) or in-camp trainings (ICTs).

Secondly, I would like to seek an update with regard to the mismatch between high and low-key ICTs for some NSmen. Some clock many low-key ICTs and fewer high-key ones, leading to a long wait before they are emplaced on MINDEF's reserve list. To what extent have SAF NS units been able to implement make-up high-key ICTs as recommended by the Committee to Strengthen National Service (CSNS)?

Finally, MINDEF has been generous towards NSmen over the years, topping up our Central Provident Fund (CPF) accounts through our NS journey. However, in view of the renewed impetus towards lifelong learning and particularly SkillsFuture, can I ask MINDEF, when it next reviews its NS policies, to consider topping up the accounts of NSmen with additional SkillsFuture credits through the course of their NS training cycle in recognition of their lifelong commitment towards National Service?

Training Safety

Mdm Chairperson, one of the things that goes under the radar for many Singaporeans is the intensity at which the SAF plans and trains for war, and for operations other than war. This is not surprising as a lot of our training is done overseas in view of the shortage of training grounds in Singapore, with the SAF going to places such as Germany, France, Australia, Thailand, India, Taiwan, Thailand, Brunei, New Zealand and the US, amongst others, in addition to ad hoc exercises with countries like China.

It is inevitable that with such a high training tempo, accidents and mishaps can happen, in spite of the SAF's best efforts and the best efforts of the commanders. I would like to suggest that MINDEF consider ramping up publicity of its training safety efforts for the general public's information. A section or a part of all open houses and public outreach campaigns can be dedicated to this purpose. While the information may not attract as many viewers as a Leopard tank on display, it would be an important reflection of MINDEF's commitment to safe and tough training in a realistic environment.

Support for NS

Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef : Madam, defence of a nation is critical. For Singapore, our position at the crossroads of global trade and travel makes it a very strategic as well as a very vulnerable location. Thus, in defending our nation, every effort, every individual counts. The SAF Volunteer Corps (VC) was introduced to enable persons who are not eligible for National Service to come forward to serve. They are altruistic individuals and they act as our defence ambassadors, doing so voluntarily.

Can MINDEF update us on the initial batches of the Volunteer Corps? What has the experience been training them? Also, are there refinements needed to the scheme?

We also welcome the many advocates who support our National Service and defence movement in Singapore. These persons and organisations are representatives from businesses, institutions, individuals and even small and medium enterprise (SME) employees. How does MINDEF plan to continue to engage this important group of people and organisations and continue to strengthen our relationship with them into the future?

Recognition in NS System

Ms Joan Pereira (Tanjong Pagar) : Mdm Chair, allow me to begin, first, by stating my appreciation on behalf of many mothers, the good work that NS has done to help our boys become men.

Our NSmen form the backbone of our national defence system. As a small country with an ageing population, we have to plan well to enable each serviceman to maximise his potential in protecting Singapore. To fulfil their duties, our servicemen have to make a lot of sacrifices, take time from their studies, work and family life. So, it is only appropriate that they be given due recognition.

Hence, I was glad that CSNS was set up to examine how the NS system can be strengthened for the future. Based on feedback, CSNS made recommendations in five areas: (a) strengthening NS training system; (b) increasing opportunities for NSmen to contribute; (c) establishing the SAF Volunteer Corps (SAFVC); (d) enhancing recognition and benefits for NSmen; and (e) expanding community support for NSmen.

As a result, MINDEF and MHA adjusted the pre-enlistment medical screening and administration schedule to enlist servicemen between four to six months. Last year, MINDEF also announced the revamp of the National Service Recognition Award (NSRA) into the NS HOME (Housing, Medical and Education) Awards, which will provide additional MediSave and MediShield Life grants.

Would the Ministry provide an update on new initiatives by CSNS? How has MINDEF continued its efforts to recognise the contributions of our NSmen?

National Servicemen

Dr Lim Wee Kiak (Sembawang) : Madam, the first batch of 9,000 youths were called-up for NS in 1967 where they spent two to two-and-half-years in full-time service and thereafter more than a decade serving NS for a few weeks annually. They are all part of the Pioneer Generation. Now they are 67 years old.

Every Singaporean will know of someone serving or have served NS. That someone may be a father, husband, brother, son or, for some, even grandson. Occasionally, we are reminded of NS when we turn on our TV or radio. We hear the broadcast about mobilisation, of in-camp training as well as mobilisation of resources with certain call signs.

But beneath this calm and peaceful environment, thousands of men are donned in their green fatigues or pixelated uniforms on land, air and sea. A small part of them are professional soldiers but the bulk are our operationally-ready NSmen. They have trained hard in all aspects of warfare, sometimes in the day and other times at night. Some would go overseas to train in various terrains, brave the thunderstorms during the monsoon season, or brave the gales and high seas, jumping off the plane with parachute and so on and so forth. Combat ration and cup noodles are luxuries during field training. Sometimes, night becomes day and day becomes night. When in uniform, you do not worry about time. Your focus is achieving your mission, meeting your combat objectives. How do I know? Well, I know all these because we have been there, done that with our fellow NSmen. I am still an active NS Navy medical officer.

Because we have a strong defence force as a foundation, this peace and security allows us to prosper and thrive. Our NSmen answered to the call of the nation and serve in various vocations in the armed forces a few weeks annually. During those few weeks, they will miss their families; their work will be shouldered by colleagues at their workplaces.

NS has done a lot for our country. Apart from putting up a strong defence force, NS also builds up a strong spirit of camaraderie – a Singapore identity among the men. NS is a platform that allows men to gel, eat, sleep and train together regardless of race, language or religion. NS is a passage, a bonding experience, for many Singaporeans across all walks of life.

Intake after intake, our NSmen have answered to the call of duty. Their competence and commitment are, indeed, qualities that would make every employer proud. Our men have undertaken so many missions, from humanitarian missions in the aftermath of natural disasters to participating in United Nations multinational military missions.

I would like to ask the Minister how MINDEF or SAF can do more to recognise the sacrifices and commitment of our NSmen. Since our NSmen contributed and played an important role in our country's security, perhaps we should consider other quantifiable way of taking care of them, such as providing them free coverage through MediShield Life when they are 60 years old and above. Since they have spent their youth defending our country, it is only right for the country to take care of them when they are old.

As NSmen form the majority of personnel in our defence force, they are assets to our defence. It is also important to provide training and develop our NSmen both professionally and personally. What are the programmes available in this aspect and what can MINDEF do more in this area?

Compensation for SAF Personnel

Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap (Aljunied) : Madam, I have two suggestions and three clarifications on SAF compensation.

First, will MINDEF consider including psychological issues, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression arising from training or operations, in its definition of disability? This condition can be debilitating over the long term and affect the ability to perform duties or work after leaving the service.

Second, Singapore spends large amounts on defence annually. How do we allocate funds to ensure that our NSFs and NSmen are adequately covered? How does MINDEF advise its members on SAF Group Insurance and ascertain that they are adequately insured? Will MINDEF consider covering the full cost of insurance or co-paying private insurance when citizens serve their NS obligations?

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Third, how does MINDEF assess the adequacy of the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA)-based compensation model? An injured or disabled person may need long-term care, equipment or facilities that go beyond medical services or prosthetics. This may drain the family financially and emotionally and may even require a family member to leave work to provide long-term care. How does MINDEF assess if the permanent loss of income and the cost of care for the lifetime of a disabled person are adequately covered?

Fourth, does the compensation framework take into consideration cases where injured service personnel are ineligible for insurance coverage after they leave the service or are forced to pay much higher premiums?

Lastly, what is the total amount MINDEF sets aside for compensation and support for long-term disability or death in this year's Budget?

Total Defence

Dr Teo Ho Pin (Bukit Panjang) : Madam, the recent terrorist attacks in many countries, such as Belgium, France, India and Indonesia, have raised concerns among many Singaporeans. Today, extremists are influenced by misinformation and wrong religious teachings to cause harm to innocent people. The change of tactics by these extremists to attack soft attacks, such as concert halls and cafes, has posed new challenges to the security forces of many countries and their people. Besides causing physical damage to property and killing innocent lives, these terrorist attacks have also affected the trust among different races and religions or between the government and its people. Thus, many countries are stepping up their anti-terrorism efforts to cope with these new threats.

Likewise, in Singapore, our Government has been strengthening our Total Defence capabilities to protect Singaporeans and prepare them for such attacks. In view of the rising security threats, I wish to ask the Ministry the following questions: (a) what is the total defence readiness of Singaporeans; and (b) what more can be done to strengthen resilience among Singaporeans?

Madam, I am concerned that many Singaporeans are still not well equipped to handle emergencies, such as bomb explosions or natural disasters. Many do not have basic emergency preparedness (EP) knowledge or skills, such as first-aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), automated external defibrillator (AED), and are not aware of EP response protocol. I understand that SG Secure will be conducting EP skills training in the community. I hope that Singaporeans will adopt a more serious attitude to learn and practise these skills properly. EP skills will make a difference between life and death in times of emergencies.

The Chairman : Mr Amrin Amin, you have three cuts. Please take them together.

Mr Amrin Amin (Sembawang) : Thank you, Mdm Chair. On Total Defence, we face a growing threat of extremist ideologies that threaten to undermine our multiracial and multi-religious harmony and divide us. What role can Total Defence play in strengthening our resilience against such threats? What are MINDEF's efforts in fostering Singaporeans' commitment to Total Defence?

Resilience in the Face of Challenges

Threats and challenges to our security continue to evolve. Global security developments, such as terrorism, epidemics, economic crisis and environmental disaster, impact Singaporeans at home and abroad. What role can Singaporeans play in defence and how can we be a resilient society in the face of such varied security challenges?

Commitment to Defence

The most advanced military hardware in the world would be useless without the willingness of our people to defend the country. Our safety and security depend on the contributions of all Singaporeans. Singapore is worth defending and can be defended. This core belief must be instilled and maintained in every Singaporean. What we cannot defend, we do not own. How is MINDEF engaging Singaporeans to strengthen the commitment in the defence of Singapore?

Mr Lee Yi Shyan : Mdm Chair, last year, Singaporeans celebrated its Golden Jubilee during which we recognised the contributions of the Pioneer Generation and leaders in nation-building. Thanks to them, Singaporeans have enjoyed decades of relative peace and stability. For the younger generations of Singaporeans, events, such as Konfrontasi, racial riots and Singapore's road to Independence, are study subjects rather than personal memories.

For many in the younger generation, the outpouring of recollections when Mr Lee Kuan Yew passed on, may have been the first time they learned of the hardships our Pioneers had endured to build the Singapore of today. Even as we move past SG50 and SAF50 celebrations, there are still many ways in which we can recognise our Pioneers and tap on their wealth of experiences.

How is MINDEF working to engage younger generations of Singaporeans on defence issues and foster a stronger commitment to defence amongst our youths? Does MINDEF plan to tap on the experiences and wisdom of SAF Pioneers? How is MINDEF using social media to engage young people and Singaporeans at large?

Given the multifaceted nature of threats to Singapore's security, all Singaporeans must stand ready to play their part in the Total Defence of Singapore. Modern threats evolve quickly and our concept of Total Defence must also be updated to adapt to global, regional and societal developments and challenges. Can MINDEF provide an update on its 2016 Total Defence Campaign?

Navy Vessels

Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap : Madam, I am a strong believer in having an inclusive and open SAF that is fair and just to all Singaporeans regardless of race, language and religion. As such, in the COS debate last year, I urged the Minister to seriously consider the possibility of ensuring that all navy vessels are equipped with halal-certified kitchens so that Malay/Muslim Singaporeans will be able to serve freely in the navy vessels without any constraint. I would like to seek an update from the Minister on whether MINDEF has made any progress on this matter in making navy vessels more friendly to Malay/Muslim Singaporeans. If efforts have been made, how many vessels out of the total number currently in active service have halal-certified kitchens?

I understand that SAF's deployment of our NS soldiers is based on aptitude, abilities and commitment to Singapore. I would like to see the practical issues, such as the installation of a halal-certified kitchen on board a navy vessel, addressed and resolved promptly, so as not to further deprive and shatter the dreams of eligible Malay/Muslim Singaporeans from serving our nation in the navy on board a navy vessel.

Update on the Advisory Council on Community Relations in Defence

Mr Baey Yam Keng : The Advisory Council on Community Relations in Defence (ACCORD) serves as a channel for the community to provide feedback on issues concerning Singapore's defence. Besides the NSmen, regulars and NSmen, the buy-in extends to their families, friends, colleagues and society at large. Practically everyone in Singapore has a stake. ACCORD members have played and are playing a significant part in building public acceptance and support for Singapore's security and defence needs.

Can MINDEF provide an update on the work of various ACCORD Councils in the past year? How extensive and representative has public engagement been and will be done?

Mdm Chair, building buy-in from stakeholders and the larger community is a two-way process. SAF also has to be understanding, accommodating and compassionate while maintaining the integrity of our defence system where it is the duty of every Singaporean man.

Recently, a resident came to my Meet-the-People session to appeal for a 15-day exemption from a one-month-long mobilisation manning period. This is because his company just sent him on a five-day incentive trip to Europe for his outstanding work performance. But he only got to know about this one week before the manning period. As it was a rare opportunity for him, he would like to extend his trip for another 11 days on a personal holiday.

So, the human resources department of his company, which is a major local bank, emailed to the SAF to appeal for him. It was a very cordial and professional email. So, I was quite surprised with the tone of the reply by the Commanding Officer (CO), and I quote an extract: "I still have the prerogative to fully reject his request to even go for the business trip, let alone the personal trip. I have not received his payslip and commission. I have also not been furnished the total cost of business trip to Italy. I have to finally state categorically that I manage 300+ men. The standards I set have to be complied with by the rest of the men. It is not as simple as you may think."

I am glad that my resident eventually managed to get permission to go on his incentive trip, but not the extension. However, I feel that the CO could have been friendlier and understanding when he dealt with the company which was appealing for its staff. I am sure such instances are very rare, but I do hope that MINDEF could advise their officers to be more mindful.

The Chairman : Senior Minister of State Ong Ye Kung.

The Senior Minister of State for Defence (Mr Ong Ye Kung) : Mdm Chair, I am having a bad cough but I will try my best.

As our security environment becomes increasingly complex and volatile, we need not only advanced equipment and technologies, but also the continued contribution and commitment of every NSman.

Today, I will talk about three areas of efforts important to NSmen – effective training, meaningful recognition and instilling pride. In the process, I should be able to answer most of the questions raised by Members in their cuts.

Mr Lee Yi Shyan asked about improvement in our training and learning systems. The soldiering skills of our servicemen are gained, honed and maintained through rigorous training. But Singapore does not have large tracts of land for military training and we have to make training realistic through innovative means.

Take, for example, live-firing. To allow servicemen to gain greater confidence in their shooting skills and handling weapon systems, live-firing ranges are now equipped with targetry systems that can replicate realistic operational scenarios.

Further, live training is augmented by simulation training, which develops our soldiers' cognitive decision-making skills, while sharpening their physical war-fighting skills. One example is the Motorised Infantry Simulator Centre, launched in October 2015. It hosts a suite of simulators that provide tactical training for selected weapons and platforms.

Besides rigour and realism, another critical element of training is safety. Mr Pritam Singh asked about public engagement on training safety. I think this is a very valid concern that we also share. SAF has a very good safety record. But we are not congratulating ourselves. Instead, we will strive to continue to improve.

We recognise that for every Singaporean male serving NS, there will be loved ones at home worrying about their safety. To give them peace of mind, family members who visit the Basic Military Training Centre (BMTC) are shown how training is conducted and the safety precautions we take.

Training safety is also featured in many of our public engagement events. And I have noted Mr Pritam Singh's suggestions for more of them. I hope the Members of this House, especially all those like Dr Lim Wee Kiak, who are still actively serving NS, will help us by playing a part to assure the public and all our residents on our strong emphasis on training safety.

Unfortunately, much as we try, there will inevitably be injuries and casualties. Mr Faisal Manap asked about our compensation framework, and gave several suggestions, when that happens.

Our compensation framework takes reference from and is more generous than that under the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA). Any compensation amounts are generally two to four times that provided under WICA. MINDEF also pays for all necessary medical expenses incurred at Government and restructured hospitals or clinics for the treatment of service-related injury, for as long as required. Beyond compensation provisions, our welfare frameworks provide additional support to the servicemen and their families through the SAF Benevolent Fund and the SAF Care Fund.

But any form of compensation would never be adequate to make up for any permanent loss of limb, or worse, life. Mr Faisal Manap rattled off many suggestions. I was trying to catch them, after hearing them for the first time. But the impression I get is, I think, do not go down the road where recognition of NS becomes a valuation of the sacrifice and any compensation counts to the dollar. Because it will never be enough. You lost a limb, you lost a loved one. It will never be enough. But we will have to do what we can that is fair, and we hope that our compensation and welfare frameworks can provide adequate support when unfortunate incidents happen in the course of service.

Mr Pritam Singh also asked about the management of NSmen undergoing Operationally Ready NS (ORNS). Let us first talk about when ORNS starts. And I must say that it is also in the interest of the SAF for ORNS to start as soon as possible. But not in the first year, because those would have just "ORD-ed" or completed their compulsory two-year NS stint, and it is quite difficult for them to be called back in the first year.

3.00 pm

Currently, the majority of NSmen in operational units are called up for ORNS training within the first two years after their ORD. But some NSmen may begin their ORNS training cycle later for a variety of reasons, such as their being overseas for work or study, deferred due to heavy commitments, academic or professional, or they are pending medical reviews. They may also be trainers or headquarter staff who do not have a unit and need to be redeployed to another unit. That accounts for the majority of the reasons why ORNS starts later for certain people.

Notwithstanding, where feasible, we will ensure ORNS training starts as soon as possible. It is in our interest because, especially when you ORD as a unit, you want to keep the unit together and the camaraderie going.

There are a few ways. One way is to ensure that the first few years of ORNS comprise shorter, low-key trainings. And that facilitates the calling up. Second, we have tied up with local universities to facilitate the call-up of the students. This also ensures that ORNS training starts early. Third, is to make some changes to how we deploy NSmen. For example, trainers who went through full-time NS at the Basic Military Training Centre (BMTC) may be deployed as training instructors at our Training Institutes. These measures ensure that ORNS training starts early. More importantly, it holds the unit together, keeping the camaraderie going.

Then, there is the issue of when ORNS ends. Since 2006, we were able to reduce the ORNS cycle from 13 years to 10 years. A great number were able to complete by their early 30s, when they have many more preoccupations in life. There is a structure to the 10 years of ORNS – starting with low-key, perhaps company-level training, before ramping up to high-key, longer exercises.

However, when an NSman misses a high-key training due to health reasons, extended overseas assignment or, like Mr Baey Yam Keng just told the story, due to being given an incentive trip, he may then disrupt his ORNS cycle. Some of us may have experienced that ourselves and we end up undergoing more low-key ICTs and not fulfilling our high-key ones. There are a couple of scenarios when that happens; when you miss high-key ICTs. If he remains in the same unit, then he may be called up for other ORNS activities throughout the year, such as operational briefings, exercise preparations. These are typically low-key ICTs and they clock up. If he is deployed to another unit, he will then follow the operational requirements and call-ups of the new unit, which will include both low- and high-key ICTs.

Ultimately, this is not an easy issue. Deferments for various work, health, family reasons, they are ever rising. We are all getting so busy, and the SAF needs to be understanding to these competing life priorities – a point that Mr Baey had just made, too. But, at the same time, this disrupts and affects the completion of the ORNS cycle. We will continue to do our best to facilitate as many NSmen as possible to complete their ORNS cycle early, while meeting the SAF's operational needs.

Ms Joan Pereira and Dr Lim Wee Kiak asked about updates on what we can do more in terms of recognition for NSmen, and this is one of the key recommendations of CSNS. We have been finding ways to show appreciation to our NSmen and those who support them – the NSman Tax Relief, National Service Housing, Medical and Education (NS HOME) Awards, SAFRA facilities. These forms of recognition are important to let them know that their sacrifices are deeply appreciated and for the greater good of Singapore. We will enhance the recognition for NSmen in three ways.

First, today, we have the Family Recognition Voucher scheme where NSmen receive vouchers which they can use at many outlets and merchants. We will enhance it and rename it as the NS Excellence Award. But the change is not just in name. The number of NSmen who are awarded vouchers in recognition of their good performance during ICTs and NS courses will increase. Today, it is the top 10%; it will increase to the top 30%. The amount will also increase. The top 10% will receive $200 while the next 20% will receive $100, which is the amount awarded today. We will also be introducing Celebratory Gifts for NSmen. They will receive $100 worth of vouchers when they get married or welcome a new child into their families.

Second, in the later part of 2016, we will enhance the basic life and personal accident insurance coverage for NSmen from SAF, SPF and SCDF. This will cover all incidents during full-time NS and ORNS activities. Each serviceman will be covered for $150,000 in group term life and in group personal accident insurance.

Third, we will improve SAFRA facilities. The new SAFRA Punggol club will be completed in April 2016. Actually, it is kind of completed and is just waiting to be opened. I have visited the clubhouse. It has a very attractive set of facilities. In the northeastern region, there are 82,000 NSmen and their families. I believe the clubhouse will serve them well. But ultimately, the best reward for NSmen is that, together, all of us, we live in a peaceful Singapore and our families are safe. That is the best form of recognition.

Dr Lim Wee Kiak also asked what more we can do to help NSmen in their professional and personal development.

Today, SAF already deploys some NSFs to vocations where their existing skills can contribute to operational requirements. These include NSFs with relevant medical or engineering backgrounds, who can serve as medics or technicians or navy medical officers.

In addition, we will continue to work with the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) to accredit the leadership and vocational skills learnt during NS, such as for military police, paramedics, and aircraft technicians. This would be useful to our NSmen. We will do more to consider the skills and abilities of our servicemen during deployment, while balancing operational requirements. For example, the manning of critical vocations and commander positions must always remain a priority. Ironically, these are the key positions where you do not receive skills certificates.

In NS, the commanders always say, "In NS, we chiong sua". It means we charge up the hills together, build camaraderie, train together, and that is something we take back and is valuable to us, but there is no certificate for that. But each of us understands, that when we went through that, we took back something and we grew from "boys to men".

We must also recognise stakeholders that support NS, something that Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef raised. Last year, we revamped the Total Defence Awards and recognised 122 NS Advocates who have demonstrated tremendous support for NS. There is one example. Digistore Solutions Pte Ltd is an SME that has provided strong support for their NSmen employees. In addition to ensuring that their employees' work responsibilities are covered, they provide paid family trips to nearby locations, such as Malacca, Bintan, for employees who complete their ICTs. I heard that during ICTs, they even deploy company transport to send their employees' kids to school.

To better recognise such companies, this year, we will launch a national accreditation scheme, the NS Mark. This scheme recognises organisations supportive of NS and Total Defence and encourages more employers and businesses to adopt human resource practices that support our NSmen. Under the scheme, organisations will be awarded either the NS Mark or the higher-tiered NS Mark (Gold), and top NS Mark (Gold) organisations will be further recognised as NS Advocates.

Third, serving with pride. The NS institution is only as strong as the commitment and fighting spirit of our NSmen. We see this spirit in many of our NSmen. Despite having to juggle NS duties with day-to-day family and job commitments, these NSmen set aside time to attend courses to upgrade their vocational and leadership skills in preparation for their higher appointments in NS. We also see NSmen extending service to contribute to national defence. For instance, NSmen with the relevant expertise in engineering and psychology have volunteered for the Expertise Conversion Scheme.

Often, what motivates our NSmen to serve with such dedication are the camaraderie and friendships forged with their fellow NSmen in the units. Last year, one of our NS Commanding Officers, Lieutenant Colonel (NS) Darren Tan, shared a Facebook note dedicated to his battalion, 823 Singapore Infantry Regiment (SIR). Let me quote him on his battalion's mission statement, I assume he wrote it, "One family with unwavering passion to excel in the protection of our home."

Corporal (NS) Mohammad Azmi Bin Arifin deferred his honeymoon so that he could complete an important evaluation test with his battalion. I assume it was with his wife's approval. First Sergeant (NS) Mok Shing Chi, despite being diagnosed with cancer, continued to serve his ICT with the help and support of his NS buddies.

Our NSmen can keep this spirit of serving going because Singaporeans are united in supporting NS. This spirit is also demonstrated by women, new citizens and first-generation Permanent Residents (PRs) who have come forth to serve in the SAF Volunteer Corps (SAFVC), which Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef had asked about.

We are proud that last year, 226 volunteers from a diverse range of backgrounds and ages completed their Basic Training. More than 80% of the Volunteers have progressed to the next phases of training. Volunteers who have completed the requisite training have since been deployed in vocations, such as Auxiliary Security Troopers and Naval Bridge Watch Keepers.

Alexander Voss, a Singapore PR and one of our Volunteer Auxiliary Security Troopers, shared, "I have had a growing desire to give back to Singapore, which I think of as my home, and play a part in our nation's defence".

Just last week, the first intake for 2016 completed their Basic Training. Moving forward, we will continue to see SAFVC volunteers deployed in diverse roles to better support our NSmen in defending Singapore.

Mdm Chair, next year, we celebrate 50 years of NS. The introduction of NS is a significant milestone in our nation-building journey, occurring shortly after Singapore gained Independence. Then, in this House, there were heated debates by an earlier generation of Members.

Today, I think the situation is totally different. We are all united in upholding the institution of NS and, as Dr Lim Wee Kiak said, NS has even become a form of national identity. Indeed, the efforts of our NSmen and those who support them have been instrumental in establishing the bedrock of peace and stability upon which we have built Singapore. Let us continue to ensure NS will remain a source of pride and strength for Singapore.

The Senior Minister of State for Defence (Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman) : Mdm Chair, last year, Singapore celebrated 50 years of Independence and we reaffirmed the beliefs, values and attitudes which contributed to building the Singapore of today. But some may wonder: will we make it to SG100?

We are confident that our home and way of life are safeguarded by an advanced and highly trained SAF, but we must know that our security agencies cannot do the job on their own. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of every individual to participate in the defence of Singapore. I am heartened that many Singaporeans I spoke to during focus group discussions shared this view.

3.15 pm

This idea of strength in unity is captured in this year's Total Defence campaign theme "Together We Keep Singapore Strong". The threats and challenges we face since Total Defence was introduced 32 years ago have evolved, but the message to respond as one people remains equally, if not more, important today.

Take the experience of Paris last year, when terrorist attacks claimed 120 victims. The initial shock gave way to a strong show of solidarity by the French. Just two weeks later, Paris hosted the 2015 United Nations Conference on Climate Change involving more than 140 world leaders and around 40,000 attendees. Today, despite increased public security measures, Parisians have not withdrawn into fear and doubt but have returned to their daily routines in celebration of the city's strength and resilience. As President Hollande said, "[the terrorists] have a cult of death, but we have a love of life."

As Mr Amrin Amin pointed out, we need to be resilient as we face evolving threats. I fully agree. In 2011, following the arrest of 15 members of the Singapore JI branch, interracial confidence circles in schools and workplaces were formed to promote inter-religious understanding. We emerged stronger from the episode, but it became clear that security agencies cannot fight the threats alone. As members of the public, we can play our part by being vigilant and sounding the alarm if we find something amiss.

For example, a self-radicalised youth was detained in April last year after a friend noticed changes in him and alerted the authorities before he could carry out his attack plans in Singapore. The battle today, and in the future, is not one waged by tanks and planes. It is a battle that needs to be won in our hearts and minds as we guard against influences that threaten our social cohesion.

Mdm Chair, the SAF is a microcosm of Singapore society, with soldiers from different backgrounds, religions and race. I would like to remind Mr Mohamad Faisal Abdul Manap that Singapore is a secular state and all Singaporeans enjoy the right to practise their religions under our Constitution. Apart from Islam, religions, such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism and Sikhism, also practise certain dietary restrictions. However, we do not insist that public eating places cater to any specific religious requirement. Rather than encouraging any one religious group to push fully for its own strict requirements, our approach has been to accommodate as far as practicable the needs of devotees of different religions while maintaining the common space and common goals for all.

So, in hawker centres, school canteens and food courts, for example, there are halal and vegetarian food stalls, but there are no specific corners for halal or vegetarian tables. This facilitates social integration, where Singaporeans come together, eat in the same space and interact. This is the cornerstone of our multiracial society and Singaporeans accept this. Similarly, there is no strict requirement that all restaurant kitchens must be halal-certified before they are allowed to operate.

The SAF operates similarly, just like society at large. In our camps, where space is available, we make provisions for halal food to be prepared separately from non-halal food, but our soldiers eat together in our dining halls. Where space is limited, vegetarian and halal food are brought in from centralised kitchens instead of being prepared in the cookhouse. In operations, like field camps, we provide combat rations that are halal, and vegetarian options are also made available.

The preparation of halal food requires strict adherence to the religious stipulations governing the food source, preparation and even storage. For Navy ships, space is always a premium which needs to be maximised and prioritised for key operational requirements, such as for combat systems, ammunitions and equipment spares. Nonetheless, we make provisions for our Muslim servicemen on board ships by providing options, such as seafood, chicken and vegetables. Similarly, we make provisions for non-Muslim Navy servicemen with specific dietary restrictions, wherever possible.

Our practice is similar to other Navies, including France and the US. SAF will accommodate where we can, but the SAF's operational priorities come before individual needs. Our servicemen and women understand and accept this. They are prepared to make sacrifices where needed and are committed to defending Singapore and all that we stand for.

Let me talk about the points raised on ACCORD. I am heartened that Singaporeans understand the importance of the community's role in the nation's defence and provide useful feedback through ACCORD.

Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef and Mr Baey Yam Keng asked for an update on the work MINDEF has done to strengthen the community's support for NS. I am pleased to update that ACCORD has implemented 14 out of 18 proposals submitted last year to strengthen support for NS.

First, the Family and Community (F&C) Council has encouraged almost 70 businesses to show appreciation to NSmen by offering discounts and benefits through the "We Support YOU in NS" programme. The response from our NSmen and their families has been very positive. The F&C Council also improved their outreach to women through partnerships with the Singapore Council of Women's Organisations and the Women's Integration Network of the People's Association.

Second, through the Educational Institutions (EI) Council, four Post-Secondary Education Institutions piloted fitness programmes to help pre-enlistees get ready and fit for NS. These are their students. The results are encouraging. At Temasek Polytechnic, for example, the fitness programme increased the IPPT pass rate of participating students by more than 25%. In addition, the EI Council reached out to Singaporean and PR students in Foreign System Schools and Privately-Funded Institutions to help them understand the importance of NS. The United World College of South East Asia was so enthused that they hosted an NS Information Evening for 430 pre-enlistees and their parents from nine Foreign System Schools.

Third, the Employer and Business (E&B) Council piloted a post-ICT letter to employers, to recognise useful skills and attributes of our servicemen which are invaluable in the business world. Last year, 122 individuals, businesses and organisations were awarded the NS Advocate Award for their outstanding support towards NS. Absolute Kinetics Consultancy Pte Ltd was one of the winners. They demonstrated their strong support for NS by providing incentives for NSmen who excel in their IPPT and recognising employees who do well during NS.

What is most heartening is that these projects were initiated and led by members of the respective councils themselves. Their passion and enthusiasm are truly inspiring. In 2016, we can look forward to an expanded "We Support YOU in NS" programme and more exciting collaborations with Families for Life to reach the wider community. We will continue to encourage more pre-enlistee fitness programmes and engender broader-based support for NS through the "NS Mark" later this year, which recognises supportive employers, businesses and organisations.

Mr Amrin Amin and Mr Lee Yi Shyan asked how MINDEF is encouraging Singaporeans to strengthen commitment to defence. The SAF regularly organises events to educate the public on our defence capabilities in a fun and engaging way. For instance, the RSAF will organise an Open House in May this year. Later in June, the Singapore Army and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) will hold an exhibition and Navy@Vivo respectively. We project to reach out to over 250,000 visitors through these events.

Last year, we launched the Commitment to Defence (C2D) Ambassadors programme to allow our SAF Pioneers to engage and inspire the younger generation with personal stories of Singapore's early struggles and our accomplishments in the face of adversity. Our younger generation found the sharing sessions interesting, authentic, and I quote, "not something we can get from the Internet".

For example, C2D Ambassadors like COL (Ret) Goh Lye Choon would captivate his audience by recounting his experience fighting infiltrators in the jungles of Kota Tinggi during Konfrontasi. According to C2D Ambassador MAJ (Ret) Ashim Mochtar, our youths are far from apathetic. They are passionate and understand the need for Singapore to stand up for itself.

Dr Teo Ho Pin asked about the public's readiness to address a variety of evolving threats. MINDEF agrees that the public needs to join the conversation on ensuring our future security. Therefore, we integrated this year's Total Defence campaign with the SGfuture citizen engagement initiative, under the theme "A Secure and Resilient Nation".

One of the discussion participants, Mr Saravenan said, "It was good to see that we feel strongly about our country and care enough to share." Many have also contributed interesting ideas to bring Total Defence to life, such as by running crisis simulation exercises to demonstrate the importance of Total Defence in overcoming hybrid threats. We will continue to explore how such ground-up ideas can revitalise community action for Total Defence.

We held a Total Defence exhibition in February and March this year. The exhibition featured individuals like Ms Nur Arfa, who was only 13 years old when she volunteered with "Citizens on Patrol" to spread awareness on crime prevention in her neighbourhood; as well as groups like the Religious Rehabilitation Group that fight religious extremist propaganda. Mr Lee Beng Kit, an exhibition visitor, said, "It is nice to see people contributing to society in their own ways. After all, Total Defence is about everybody coming together to keep Singapore strong, regardless of race, language and religion." We hope that the exhibition showed that there is much each individual can do to keep Singapore strong.

This year, we refreshed the Total Defence song "There's a Part for Everyone". I am sure Members can all remember that song from many, many years ago. But the updated version is a lot more hip. Indeed, with updated lyrics and a new upbeat arrangement by home-grown band QuickPick, the familiar medley caught on very quickly. The song was re-introduced to schools and reached more than 600,000 TV viewers over a 10-day period. Even Minister Ng Eng Hen was game enough to sing along to the refreshed song, helping us reach out to half a million people through his Facebook page. Unfortunately, I do not have time to show the video today. I hope that all of us will renew our commitment to Total Defence each time this song is sung.

We also continue to engage Singaporeans through platforms like the ciNE65 short film competition and N.E.mation! digital animation competition. Hoon Wei Ting, from Victoria Junior College, was so inspired by her participation in N.E.mation! last year that she volunteered to help out and share her experience with participants this year as well. We hope that when these competition clips are shown nationwide, they will encourage conversations about Total Defence and inspire all to do their part to keep Singapore strong and resilient.

Mdm Chair, MINDEF and the SAF also reach out to a diverse audience through various media platforms. Our stories highlight the sacrifices our NSmen make and the tough training they undergo to defend Singapore. Those who caught the "Ah Boys to Men" movies said it "shed (light) on the untold story of our unsung heroes". Programmes, such as the "Commandos" documentary series, "Women in the SAF" and "SAF Pioneers" were all well-received. We are heartened that Singaporeans' commitment to defence remains strong, and we will continue to share more of our stories in the coming year.

After 50 years of nationhood, the threats we are facing have evolved, but so have our responses. The future is uncertain, but I am confident that if we see ourselves, first and foremost, as one people and have the resolve to work together to strengthen our military, civil, economic, social and psychological defences, we, as a society, will be resilient enough for any challenge that comes our way.

3.30 pm

The Chairman : We have a bit of time for clarifications. Dr Lim Wee Kiak.

Dr Lim Wee Kiak : Thank you, Chairman. I have two clarifications, both for the Senior Minister of State, regarding the NS Mark and NS Gold Mark. What are the specific criteria for the companies to achieve these? May I suggest that, the Government, being one of the largest employers, make sure that our own Statutory Boards and Government agencies all achieve NS Mark and NS Gold Mark even before the private sector firms do it?

Secondly, regarding the low-key and high-key ICTs, personally, I also know of a few people who served many, many low-key ICTs somehow. Is it possible for them to consider accumulating that? For example, if you serve three or four low-key ICTs, it is equivalent to one high-key ICT. The number of days, added together, forms a sacrifice as well. I think we should recognise that, too.

Mr Ong Ye Kung : I thank the Member for the questions. For the first point on the Statutory Boards, I would say that MINDEF agrees with the Member. As for the details of the NS Mark Scheme, they will be announced in the latter part of the year.

On accumulating low-key ICTs to become high-key ICTs, this is a suggestion that had been raised before. We have looked at it and we will probably continue to look at it. But I think there is a limit. Just as I do some extra push-ups, do one more broad jump, one more shuttle run, it does not equal a 2.4-kilometre run. So, there is a limit to that logic.

Mr Vikram Nair : Mdm Chair, I would like to discuss one of the new threats that the Minister mentioned, which was cybersecurity. There is CSA and I think MINDEF are looking at cybersecurity issues. I am just wondering what is the coordination between the two, because there will be a lot of joint issues faced by both. One looks at, I understand, state-related issues; the other looks at domestic, commercial facilities and so on. I think there is probably a lot of coordination required and lots of the types of threats both tackle will be similar.

Dr Ng Eng Hen : Madam, if I can provide a simple structure. The national coordinating agency for Singapore and whole-of-Government is the CSA. Its task remit is to secure, if you like, the cyber environment for the whole-of-Government. Whole-of-Government also includes the private sector. For instance, CSA engages key clusters. The financial cluster is key; transport, power, and so on and so forth. That is its remit. And it is structured under PMO.

For the SAF, we are responsible for cybersecurity of our own military networks to make sure that we can conduct a defence – there are some things that I would not tell you – but we can conduct our defence. We are not dependent on your networks.

Mr Pritam Singh : Thank you, Mdm Chairperson. My question is directed to the Senior Minister of State. I am just following up on the high-key ICT issue. According to the CSNS, one of their recommendations was to implement make-up high-key ICTs. Can I just get an update from the Senior Minister of State how far SAF has gone into this? Because if I hear the Senior Minister of State correctly, it seems as if there may be difficulties in implementing this recommendation.

Mr Ong Ye Kung : There is a limit. Of course, make-up high-key ICT is to redeploy them to another unit which is going through a high-key ICT. In the process, what we lose is that he is no longer in the unit. To many NSmen, that actually is quite important because your friends and comrades are all from that unit.

While we try to implement the make-up high-key ICT, it is also in our interest to cater to young people and their many preoccupations. If they can finish their ORNS by their early 30s, then start to have babies, get their flats and start to work hard and be more focused on their career, I think it is a good thing. So, it is totally in our interest to make sure it ends as early as we can, early 30s if possible.

Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap : Madam, I would just like to repeat what I have said in my speech that I am a strong believer in an inclusive and open SAF. I do not think that I need the Senior Minister of State to remind me that Singapore is a multiracial and multi-religious society.

Madam, I bring this issue up because of what the Minister had answered to a question posed to him during one of the public forums regarding why there are no Malays serving in the Navy vessels. The Minister mentioned that it is due to practical reasons or practical issues. My point is that since this is a practical issue or practical problem that exists, has this practical problem been resolved practically? So, that is my purpose. I believe if this practical reason can be resolved, it will further foster the inclusivity of SAF or RSN.

Dr Ng Eng Hen : Madam, a point of order. The Member is quoting me and I do not know what he is quoting. If he can show what I actually said in the conference or at the meeting, I am more than happy to accommodate what I said.

But I think there is a larger point. Mr Faisal Manap says he does not need to be reminded that we are a multiracial, multi-religious society. But he is only championing in his speech for Muslims.

Senior Minister of State Maliki made it clear that if each of us in this House – Muslims champion Muslims, Christians champion Christians, Buddhists champion Buddhists – we have never pushed for each group to fully push for their rights, for their observances. I think Senior Minister of State Maliki was very clear: where it is practicable, we will lean forward; the SAF, as with the rest of society.

So, in camps where there is adequate space, as Members know, we have Muslim cookhouses, vegetarian food is served. But we made it clear that, for the Navy, that space is always a premium. We have answered the Member's questions fairly.

But there is a larger point in this: what is the tone of the society, the tone of the SAF? Because in the SAF, I draw from all Singaporeans. I have people who do not eat beef. I have people with religious observances, apart from Muslims. I have vegetarians. Where we can, we will accommodate. But the overriding principle must be that the SAF's operational concerns must come first, and individual needs sometimes must subsume under that. Where we can, we will accommodate.

I am certain that there are situations where I cannot please all, accommodate all requirements. I cannot, hand on heart, assure you that all my mobile kitchens are halal. And sometimes, if we can, we will offer combat rations which are halal, which are pre-prepared. But fresh rations sometimes are served in the field. So, there are all these instances.

The SAF is a complex machinery. And I think our overall point is: where we can, we will lean forward as with the rest of the society, but always with the understanding that the SAF's needs and operational concerns must come first. There may be individual sacrifices that we make, but we deploy based on merit as well as commitment.

The Chairman: Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef.

Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef : Madam, I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State whether the training for the SAF Volunteer Corps is structured to meet the capabilities of the persons. Because I do know of a group of ladies who are actually considering joining but worry about their physical capabilities, myself included.

Mr Ong Ye Kung : The training is different from the full-time NS training. It is in three different phases and it will be structured according to the physical abilities and also the interests of the volunteers.

The Chairman: Mr Faisal Manap.

Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap : Madam, I would like to reject the Minister mentioning me as someone who is always championing Malay/Muslim issues. We can check the Hansard. I believe that I have voiced out more national issues, compared to Malay/Muslim issues. And I believe it is my role and responsibility as an elected Member of a minority community in the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) system, it is my responsibility and role to voice out Malay/Muslim issues based on the voices that I gather from the community.

Dr Ng Eng Hen : Madam, I am very pleased to hear that the Member will champion issues for all religions.

The Chairman : Mr Vikram Nair, would you like to withdraw your amendment?

Mr Vikram Nair : Mdm Chair, I would like to thank the Members for their contributions, and the Minister and Senior Ministers of State for their responses. I think we have had a very lively discussion. In many countries, the military is seen as a powerful remote organisation. In Singapore, it is quite different. In Singapore, because we have NS, I think almost everyone is either serving in the military or know someone who is serving in the military. So, in that sense, it is very close to home. At the same time, it is respected around the region, it is respected by our contemporaries, I think that is quite an important achievement.

Madam, I am proud of the SAF and proud also to be serving in the SAF. I am now into my Reservist on Voluntary Extended Reserve (ROVER) stage. It is something many of us are proud of. With that, Madam, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.

[(proc text) Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. (proc text)]

[(proc text) The sum of $13,296,000,000 for Head J ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. (proc text)]

[(proc text) The sum of $671,000,000 for Head J ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. (proc text)]

The Chairman : Order. I propose to take the break now.

[(proc text) Thereupon Mdm Speaker left the Chair of the Committee and took the Chair of the House. (proc text)]

Mdm Speaker : Order. I propose to take a break now. I suspend the Sitting and will take the Chair at 4.05 pm.

Sitting accordingly suspended

at 3.45 pm until 4.05 pm.

Sitting resumed at 4.05 pm

[Mdm Speaker in the Chair]

Hansard 原始記錄