Singapore hosts ADMM-Plus Chemical, Biological and Radiological Conference

Senior Minister of State for Defence Mr Heng Chee How delivering his opening address at the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM)-Plus Chemical, Biological and Radiological Conference.

The ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM)-Plus Chemical, Biological and Radiological (CBR) Conference, taking place from 11 to 12 October 2022 at the Shangri-La Hotel, gathers CBR experts from ADMM-Plus countries and international organisations to strengthen the region's capacity to address CBR threats from non-state actors. Conducted in a hybrid format, delegates will exchange their views and experiences on topics such as CBR threat detection, response, and the use of new technology to address CBR threats.

Delivering the opening address this morning, Senior Minister of State for Defence Mr Heng Chee How highlighted that CBR threats cannot be addressed by any single country alone, given their transborder and transnational nature. Instead, international collaboration and information sharing among militaries and defence scientists can enhance the region's collective resilience against such threats. He said, "In 2018, the ASEAN Defence Ministers recognised the need to strengthen regional counter-terrorism preparedness and cooperation against CBR threats … In this regard, today's conference has been a few years in the making. I hope that we can build upon this strong base of ASEAN cooperation to strengthen the whole region's resilience against CBR threats and serve as a good example of the benefits of multilateral cooperation against our common security challenges."

United Nations (UN) Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Ms Izumi Nakamitsu delivered the conference's keynote address, and highlighted the UN's efforts to strengthen international cooperation and global norms to tackle evolving CBR threats. She said, "A holistic approach to addressing CBRN implies that essential and constructive as the UN's efforts may be, they are not sufficient for sustainable global impact. The multiplicity of factors necessitates a multiplicity of actors." She added, "These factors are complex, inter-related and dynamic, but the solution starts from the same imperative: progress requires constructive dialogue and genuine cooperation. Without this foundation, no progress is possible."

The delegates attending the conference in-person will also visit the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Explosives (CBRE) Defence Group this afternoon to witness a demonstration of the SAF's CBRE capabilities. This will include a display of capabilities in incident response by CBRE operators, casualty management and on-site decontamination by the SAF Medical Response Force (MRF), as well as a showcase of capabilities to forward deploy chemical and biological testing by scientists from DSO National Laboratories.

The conference is held under the ambit of the Network of ASEAN CBR Defence Experts, an initiative that was mooted by Singapore and approved by the ADMM in 2018. Over the past three years, the Network has organised workshops, meetings and table-top exercises to strengthen CBR cooperation among ASEAN Member States.¹The ongoing conference extends these efforts to promote dialogue and cooperation to the ADMM-Plus countries.

¹These activities include annual meetings among ASEAN CBR defence experts, trainings conducted in partnership with the OPCW and IAEA, and a table-top exercise on chemical incident response co-hosted with Thailand. Most recently, the Network co-hosted a technical seminar on Biosafety and Biosecurity with the Philippines, as well as a workshop on COVID-19 Vaccines and Therapeutics Development with Cambodia. DSO National Laboratories serves as the Network's Secretariat.

United Nations Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Ms Izumi Nakamitsu delivering the keynote address.

Collection and sampling of the chemical threat by CBRE operators during a demonstration.

Decontamination of a casualty by Medical Response Force.

Forward deployed defence scientists from DSO National Laboratories performing identification and verification of CBR threats.

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Speech by Senior Minister of State for Defence, Mr Heng Chee How, for the ADMM-Plus Chemical, Biological and Radiological Conference at Shangri-La Hotel