Keynote Address by Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen, at the 1st International Maritime Security Conference

Enhancing Maritime Security through Cooperative ActionDistinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good afternoon and welcome to the inaugural International Maritime Security Conference, or IMSC. Despite the global financial crisis and the outbreak of H1N1 influenza, this inaugural IMSC has brought together some 500 attendees. They comprise, among others, maritime experts from navies and coast guards, defence and security industries, shipping companies, academia and think tanks.

This turnout is encouraging and reflects the collective response of stakeholders to a range of security challenges, either emanating directly from or affecting the maritime domain. The international community clearly recognises the importance of maintaining uninterrupted and safe passage through sea lines of communication. Be it due to piracy, terrorism, pandemics or natural disasters, any local and regional disruption to maritime transport and trade will have serious consequences globally. This was illustrated vividly during the recent surge in piracy in the Gulf of Aden. The number of commercial ships that were threatened or hijacked was relatively small in numbers but the potential disruption provoked responses from navies from 21 different countries.

This IMSC is therefore timely. Organised by the Republic of Singapore Navy, the Rajaratnam School of International Studies and SINGEX Exhibitions, the IMSC serves as a platform to bring stakeholders and decision makers to discuss issues related to maritime security and safety. Arising from shared perspectives and interests, good ideas can come forth to help develop frameworks and solutions to deal with the security challenges that confront us all today. Cooperative Action: Challenges and OpportunitiesThis collective and cooperative approach from regional or international stakeholders is necessary, simply because the challenges often come suddenly and overwhelm the resources of any one country.

The 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami which started off the coast of the Nias Islands in Indonesia was such a classic example. Beyond Indonesia, India, Malaysia, the Maldives, Myanmar, Somalia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand were affected. The scale of the ensuing humanitarian disaster could only be adequately met by collaborative efforts of many navies and relief organisations to bring relief to its victims. In the aftermath and post-disaster analysis and planning, it has become clear too, that it would make little economic sense for any one country to prepare to respond to such calamities alone. More recently, the multinational counter-piracy efforts in the Gulf of Aden have brought together navies from all parts of the world, and is yet another example where adequate scale can only be achieved through sharing of information and capabilities.

Nevertheless, challenges exist that prevent agencies from working together.

For example, some navies and coast guards may be unable to cooperate fully due to differences over the interpretation of international law or maritime boundary issues. Resolution of these differences may take a long time. To counter these obstacles to cooperation, a practical and flexible approach within a regional security framework is required to foster confidence-building and capacity-building. Cooperative Action: ConventionsThere are useful instruments that can build the foundations of such regional cooperative framework for maritime security. Foremost amongst these is the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Ratified by more than 140 states, UNCLOS establishes the legal foundations for the rule of law at sea, balancing the legitimate interests, sovereign rights and moral duties of both maritime users as well as coastal states. For the past 25 years, the convention has contributed substantially to furthering international maritime peace and cooperative action. It has codified and sometimes simplified customary law, which had evolved in a diffuse and haphazard fashion over the centuries. UNCLOS also provides a legal basis to settle competing claims. In this regard, the International Court of Justice and the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea serve to arbitrate many disputes between states.

Other conventions such as the International Maritime Organisation's (IMO) 1974 Safety Of Life At Sea (SOLAS) convention provide good guidelines on safety and for some - security aspects at sea. The 2002 International Code for the Security of Ships and Port Facilities (ISPS), which amends the 1974 SOLAS agreement, also established a framework for states to implement security standards for the commercial shipping industry. Other useful IMO conventions include the 1988 Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation, or SUA convention, which complements UNCLOS by providing law enforcement agencies with greater authority to tackle maritime challenges. These conventions provide the necessary legal basis for cooperative action but more will be needed to establish practical cooperation frameworks to facilitate confidence-building and capacity-building among interested parties. Let me provide a few examples.

Cooperative Action: Regional FrameworksWithin the Asia Pacific region, functional groupings such as ASEAN through the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting, the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the East Asia Summit (EAS), as well as multilateral fora such as the Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) bring stakeholders together to discuss ways to make useful and meaningful contributions to regional security. These have produced actionable results and benefits to participants and to the international community.

It was at the 4th Shangri-La Dialogue in June 2005 that the three principles of maritime security cooperation in the Malacca Strait were proposed and agreed upon by the participants. These principles are: that the primary responsibility for maritime security in the Malacca Strait lies with the littoral states; that the international community and major user states have a role to play; and that cooperation in the Malacca Strait has to be in accordance with international law, and respectful of the sovereignty of the littoral states. At the same event, Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, then the Defence Minister, proposed a combined maritime air patrols. Accordingly, the "Eyes-in-the-Sky" or EiS initiative involving aircraft from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore was launched in September 2005.

Today, the Malacca Strait Patrols, comprising EiS, sea patrols, and an intelligence exchange group, is a fruitful cooperative effort by Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and most recently Thailand, which came on-board in September 2008. Since the MSP was implemented, the number of piracy cases has fallen sharply, leading the Lloyds' Joint War Risk Committee to remove the Malacca Strait from its list of war-risk areas in August 2006. De facto, the cooperative efforts, capacity and confidence building to address specific challenges were integral to formulating the regional security architecture. Singapore has also worked with other regional countries to establish the open and inclusive Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP). The ReCAAP Informational Sharing Centre (ISC) which was officially launched in Singapore in November 2006 helps to provide more accurate reports of incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships in the region, while facilitating the sharing of best practices amongst countries. We will continue this process here at IMDEX, when we conduct the Maritime Information Sharing Exercise (MARISX) at the Information Fusion Centre (IFC) located at the Changi Command and Control Centre. Participating navies and agencies will have the opportunity to work with different systems and scenarios to enhance information sharing and build stronger coordination for timely and effective responses to maritime threats.

Complementing the layer of multilateral fora is the web of warm and long-standing bilateral defence ties between Asia-Pacific countries. Bilateral defence cooperation and interactions between countries serve to strengthen mutual trust and understanding, thus enabling more effective collective action. These layers - broad multilateral groupings, functional operational groupings, and strong bilateral relations - are all important components of a robust maritime security framework. Cooperative Action: Preserving Freedom of NavigationThese various initiatives underscore the investment and resources required from all stakeholders to preserve freedom of navigation in international straits. This freedom is vital as it underpins the global trading system where 90% of trade is carried via the sea.

Conclusion

I am heartened to note the extensive and broad participation in this inaugural IMSC. Over the next two days, I am confident that you will share perspectives, strengthen confidence, foster habits of cooperation and contribute to deriving multi-dimensional solutions to the maritime challenges that confront us. I wish you all a very successful conference. Thank you.