Written Reply by Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen to Parliamentary Question on Piracy Along Singapore Strait

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Defence (a) what new tactics have been designed by those responsible for the rise in actual and attempted piracy and robbery cases in the Singapore Strait and its surrounding waters; (b) what measures can be deployed to deter and eliminate such threats; and (c) how will the revised Standard Operating Procedures signed at the 14th Malacca Straits Patrol Joint Coordinating Committee Meeting address the rise in the number of piracy and robbery cases in the straits of Malacca and Singapore.

Minister for Defence, Dr Ng Eng Hen:

The number of piracy and sea robbery incidents occurring in the Singapore Strait fluctuates considerably from year to year. For example in years, 2014, 2015 and 2019, there were 48, 104 and 31 such incidents. But in the remaining years over the last decade, the average was around 12. It is therefore difficult to conclude if there will be a persistent increase from the 2019 figures alone, although our maritime agencies are monitoring this closely. What we have determined is that the tactics and modus operandi of the perpetrators remain the same, consisting of petty crime involving the theft of crew belongings, engine parts, or scrap metal. All perpetrators are based and operate outside Singapore's territorial waters, and therefore we are working with our neighbours to share information and collect intelligence, so that Singapore can be better prepared to meet such threats.

Against specific incidents, our national maritime agencies can only act in our territorial waters, which we did in two of these incidents, where the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and Police Coast Guard (PCG) boarded these ships to rule out any residual security risks, prior to their entry into Singapore's ports.

For incidents outside our waters, Singapore has longstanding cooperation with navies and coast guards of Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand to deal with transnational maritime piracy, robbery and other security threats. Most recently, at the 14th Malacca Straits Patrol (MSP) Joint Coordination Committee meeting, the navies of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand revised the MSP Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to enhance the region's ability to tackle sea robbery in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. This included a commitment to quarterly exercises to sharpen information exchange processes, as well as an updated set of suspicious contact indicators to assist investigation efforts of sea robbery incidents. Beyond regular conduct of sea and air patrols under the MSP, joint training and exercises as well as information sharing strengthen understanding and collaboration to deal with maritime incidents together.

The RSN's Information Fusion Centre (IFC) shares information with our neighbours on a regular basis to aid them in deterring possible perpetrators and successfully responding to sea robbery attempts. For instance, on 18 Jan this year, the IFC was alerted of a sea robbery incident involving a tugboat towing a barge. The information was shared via the IFC with the Indonesian authorities as the incident had occurred in their waters, which led to the successful arrest of the criminals involved.

On a day-to-day basis, the RSN also works alongside other local maritime agencies such as the PCG and Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) through the Singapore Maritime Crisis Centre (SMCC). The SMCC is a Whole-of-Government set-up that maintains our maritime situation picture, drives sense-making efforts, and coordinates responses to potential maritime security threats.

Nevertheless, we agree with Members that additional measures are useful to prevent the further rise in incidence of sea robbery and piracy. We want to step up deeper sharing in information and intelligence with maritime and enforcement agencies within Malaysia and Indonesia. The Maritime Security Task Force (MSTF) is also making plans to restructure itself, including beefing up its assets to deal with such incidents at sea. That review is expected to be complete in the next few months.