Speech by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Mr Teo Chee Hean, at the Opening Ceremony of IMDEX Asia 2011

Good morning Excellencies,

Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Education & Second Minister for Defence,

Navy Chiefs,

Coast Guard Directors-General,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Welcome to Singapore and to the eighth International Maritime Defence Exhibition, IMDEX Asia. It is heartening to see so many navies and maritime enforcement agencies, as well as defence professionals represented here. IMDEX Asia, the Asia Pacific's only international event dedicated to maritime defence, has grown to become a key platform for the exchange of views on developments in the maritime defence arena.

The safety and security of maritime trade routes are of vital importance to all nations. Transporting goods and commerce by sea remains the most economical and efficient mode of transport for the global economy.

The continuing piracy situation in the key maritime trade routes of the Gulf of Aden and off the Coast of Somalia, underscores how threats to the freedom of navigation in one region can have global ramifications. Ships planning on transiting the Gulf of Aden can deal with the increased risks either by rerouting to avoid the area, or accepting the risk and enhancing vessel security. The longer voyage distance associated with the first option significantly decreases the delivery capacity of each vessel and imposes a greater fuel
cost. The economic cost is also as significant with the second option. Since 2008, the Gulf of Aden has been designated as a "war risk area", significantly increasing insurance costs for ships. For example, Maersk Lines, one of the largest global shipping lines recently estimated that its piracy related costs will double from US$100 million in 2010 to US$200 million in 2011.

Piracy, as well as other maritime threats such as terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction underscores the unique and challenging nature of the maritime arena. Because of its complex and porous nature, maritime threats are often multi-faceted and trans-national, requiring responses that cut across traditional inter-agency boundaries. It is for this reason that effective action in the maritime domain requires cooperation and unity of effort from a broad range of actors and stakeholders across several countries. This allows for the pooling of capacity and resources, and more varied expertise, reach and ideas.

Countries have come to recognise the importance of engendering cooperation to strengthen maritime security, and significant progress has been made. One clear example is the cooperation between various naval groupings patrolling the waters in the Gulf of Aden and off the Coast of Somalia. As a maritime nation, Singapore shares the concerns of the international community regarding the piracy situation there. Since 2009, we have sent two task groups, comprising a Landing Ship Tank, with two Super Puma helicopters embarked, to operate with Combined Task Force 151 (CTF 151) to conduct sector patrols to deter pirate attacks. At present, we have also deployed our second Singapore Armed Forces command team to lead CTF 151, as well as a Fokker-50 Maritime Patrol Aircraft to conduct maritime air surveillance operations in support of CTF 151.

However, as is clear from these efforts in the Gulf of Aden and the Somali Basin, there is much to be done to build expertise and capacity in maritime security in other key maritime areas of the world. We must ensure that we maintain momentum and build on the lessons we have learnt thus far. In particular, it is important to continue to focus on two key areas.

First, we must ensure that there continue to be platforms for dialogue and the exchange of views on maritime-related issues to build mutual trust and understanding. These forums can also be opportunities to share professional skills, knowledge and practices, and form the basis for more concrete cooperation. For example, at the Shangri La Dialogue held in Singapore in 2005 the littoral states of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore forged three principles of maritime security cooperation for the Malacca Straits which were then used as a basis for the cooperative arrangements like the Malacca Strait Patrols.

Second, we need to continue to build-on multilateral frameworks and groupings, including strengthening practical cooperative activities. The utility of such groupings can be seen practically demonstrated in the Gulf of Aden. Various naval groupings: the EU Naval Forces, task forces from NATO and the CTF 151, as well as naval ships operating independently are continuing to cooperate to combat piracy. Although deployed under different ambits, these naval forces are able to synchronise and collaborate through mechanisms such as the Shared Awareness and Deconfliction (or SHADE) meetings, as well as the Contact Group for Piracy off the Coast of Somalia.

In this region, groupings such as the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM)-Plus and the Western Pacific Naval Symposium (or WPNS) have maritime security among their focus areas. These groupings serve as touch points for navies to develop a common understanding and shared responses. For example, under the ambit of the WPNS, there are a number of maritime security-related exercises which promote active information sharing among WPNS navies. Last year, the ADMM-Plus was inaugurated with the ten countries of ASEAN and eight "Plus" countries - Australia, China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Russia and the US. Expert Working Groups have been established under the ambit of the ADMM-Plus in a number of areas, including maritime security. This will be another avenue to strengthen regional defence cooperation on maritime security-related issues.

Another tangible avenue for practical cooperation is in the area of information sharing. This is especially critical for the maritime domain, where the timely sharing of relevant information allows for effective responses to be mounted against maritime threats. The Information Fusion Centre at the Changi Command and Control Centre has been purposebuilt to collate and analyse information shared among an international network of partners, to facilitate timely and effective responses to maritime threats.

Since its inception, IMDEX Asia has provided a platform for professionals to evaluate the latest developments in maritime defence equipment and to exchange views and experiences. More importantly, IMDEX Asia has also grown in scale and scope. The first IMDEX in 1997 only involved participants from five navies and was primarily focused on developments in maritime defence equipment.

This year's IMDEX Asia has grown to include the participation of more than 45 navies and maritime enforcement agencies, and 165 exhibitors from around the world. More significantly, there are also a number of concurrent activities being conducted together with IMDEX Asia, which will help to foster greater cooperation in the maritime domain. The International Maritime Security Conference facilitates dialogue and the exchange of views on maritime security related issues, the WPNS Maritime Security Exercise will promote interoperability among WPNS navies in the area of maritime security, and the Maritime Information Sharing Exercise to be held at the Changi C2 Centre will strengthen and "keep warm" information sharing linkages between regional and global navies, ensuring that these can be activated when required. I am confident that this diverse schedule of activities, together with a good mix of opportunities to participate from a wide range of experts from the defence and maritime sectors, will help to create a good forum for rich conversation and interactions. And I hope to spur greater cooperation and collaboration among our maritime agencies in the region.

It now remains for me to declare IMDEX Asia 2011 open. Thank you.