Speech by Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen, at the Opening Ceremony of International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference Asia 2013

My parliamentary colleagues Mr Chan Chun Sing and
SPS Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman,
Ambassadors,
Excellencies,
Permanent Secretaries,
Chiefs of Navy,
Organising Chairman,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen, I want to bid you a very warm welcome to the ninth International Maritime Defence Exhibition, or IMDEX Asia.

I am glad to report that this year, we have a record number of 31 Navy and Air Force Chiefs, as well as Director-Generals, attending IMDEX. It was first inaugurated in 1997, and now, it has grown to be the Asia-Pacific's largest maritime defence exhibition and I think a key platform for defence professionals to exchange views and enhance cooperation in the maritime domain. This year, IMDEX will further be expanded to include the International Naval Engineering Conference, co-hosted with the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology.

So Singapore is again proud and pleased to host IMDEX. There will be exhibitions that Mr Tan Pheng Hock has talked about, symposiums, networking and collaborations. But I think the more important element, the more essential element for IMDEX, is for Singapore and the community - international community - to be able to discuss peace and stability in this region. Because in our history - Singapore's history, the destiny of this island state has often been inextricably linked to our surrounding seas, so I think, more than others, we appreciate the profound impact of events in the maritime domain. Some of you may know that our very name, the "Lion City", is derived from Sanskrit "Sinha Pura". It was purportedly given when a Srivijayan Prince from Palembang fleeing a storm, force landed on this island and caught sight of a lion. The historians are not sure whether lions ever lived in Singapore, but that is what fables are made of, and that is how we got our name. 500 years later, in 1819, Sir Stamford Raffles saw the potential of our deep and calm harbours and established a small trading post for the British East India Company and began that chapter of our history to become one of the world’s busiest ports.

Indeed, this entire region of ASEAN has been profoundly impacted by maritime trade. It is understandable and in fact intuitive because we have long coastal borders, the ASEAN member states, some archipelagic states. ASEAN sits at the centre of maritime trade routes that criss-cross Asia and Europe and later to the Americas. Ships that have sailed these waters for thousands of years brought not only cargoes and wares. They were also the conduits through which varied ideas, cultures and religions flowed to shape this region's history and societies. Those influences from the sea remain today. Arab traders in the first millennium brought Islam to Southeast Asia that now account for some of the world's largest Muslim communities - Indonesia, Malaysia. Hindu influences would follow through the Majapahit kingdom, which is a maritime trading empire that reached its zenith in the 14th century. World heritage sites at Angkor Wat, Prambanam, Preah Vihear are regal, if silent, reminders of Hinduism's once great influence in this region. We held our last ADMM, ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting, a formal meeting in Siam Reap, and at the time the Secretary of Defence, US, also joined us. And I think it was a fitting place that reminded us of our historical roots. In the 15th century, Admiral Zheng He's treasure ships traverse these waters to reach Arabia and Africa. And from the 16th century, European explorers followed those same routes backward and spread Western influence in this region. It resulted in colonisation of many ASEAN countries in the 18th and 19th centuries. Once again in the 20th century, the seas were the main theatre from which much of today’s post-Independence ASEAN states would emerge. In the World War II Battle of the Java Sea, the Imperial Japanese Navy's victory over a combined Western naval force set the stage for Japan’s conquest of the Dutch East Indies, today’s Indonesia. Two years later, an Allied force destroyed Imperial Japan’s naval might in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, which paved the way for the liberation of the Philippines and the rest of Southeast Asia. We are here today with ASEAN member states, all independent, and who collectively form a thriving community of over 600 million people and a combined GDP of more than two trillion dollars. So when ASEAN claims and reminds the international community that it is to our own interest that the centrality of ASEAN, the independence of ASEAN, be the main driver of our security frameworks. It is in the context of history, where South East Asia in the past, a very different one that it is now in the present, was an arena for proxy wars and contests for domination half a century ago. If we revert to that situation, it will be not only a lost for ASEAN, but also the international community. Over the last three decades since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the lifting of the Bamboo Curtain, globalisation and the rapid growth of international trade has lifted millions from poverty in this region. More now than ever, secure sea routes remain critical to continuing stability and economic growth for all of us. Asia alone accounts for about 50 percent of global seaborne trade, which saw a record near 9 billion tons of goods transported by ship last year. The International Monetary Fund projects trade volumes to grow more than 9% annually for Asian trade for the next few years, compared to less than half - 4% for Far East-to-Europe trade. Security of sea trade lines of communication in this region is vital not only for this region but also to the global community. But the increasing complexity of threats, however, poses new challenges. Sporadic piracy, maritime terrorism, territorial disputes, and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction are examples of transnational challenges at sea that threaten the stability and security of our maritime commons. These challenges cannot be solved by any one nation, no matter how well resourced. Instead, countries need to take a more collaborative approach that is anchored on three key principles.

Key Principles for Security Cooperation in the Maritime Domain

First, platforms for dialogue and cooperation need to be open and inclusive to all states to promote sharing of information and exchange of views so that we can understand each other's concerns better. For this reason, Singapore hosts events like this, IMDEX Asia, and the annual Shangri-La Dialogue to bring together regional and extra-regional players to discuss issues of common security interest.

Second, disagreements between states should be settled peacefully and in accordance with international law. Commitment to internationally accepted norms and legal frameworks provide the only viable and peaceful way to build trust and to prevent conflicts when differences of views arise. In disputes, all sides should exercise maximum restraint and avoid escalating tensions or precipitating confrontations. And this is exactly what the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting, just concluded recently in Brunei talked about and issued a joint statement. We discussed the measures to reduce tensions in the South China Sea, including de-escalating SOPs, hotlines, keeping channels of communications open, so that we can avoid miscalculation and escalation of tensions. In addition, we expressed support for our Leaders' commitment at the 22nd ASEAN Summit to work actively with China towards the early conclusion of a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea. And here we were pleased that the Chinese Minister, Chang Wanquan, whom we met at the ADMM, concurred and I think the Foreign Minister, also in his statements, gave positive signals that China would want to move towards early adoption of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.

Third, we must strengthen practical cooperation in areas of shared interest and build understanding, if not trust. This includes military to military cooperation. One good example is the upcoming 18-nation ADMM-Plus Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief and Military Medicine exercise. This will be hosted by Brunei next month. This will be the first ADMM-Plus full troop exercise. It will involve six ships, 18 helicopters and nearly 2000 personnel from 18 countries; medical teams, hospital ships, search and rescue teams, civil engineering teams. Over the next few days, the Republic of Singapore Navy will also be hosting the Maritime Information Sharing Exercise to deepen information-sharing linkages between regional and extra-regional navies, and the Western Pacific Naval Symposium Multilateral Sea Exercise to promote interoperability among participating navies at sea.

Progress in Security Cooperation

Cooperation and collaboration among militaries can yield positive results which benefit the global community. For example, in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia, international collaboration in counter-piracy since 2009 and coordinated patrols between Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand in the Straits of Malacca since 2004, have reduced piracy attacks in respective regional waterways. This is a clear example of how collaboration between regional players and international players can benefit and improve security situations for the global community.

Information-sharing is a key resource to enhance the effectiveness of collaborative efforts between states as it provides better maritime situational awareness and facilitates timely responses to security threats. The ASEAN Information-sharing Portal is a good example that involves ASEAN navies. International Liaison Officers from 13 countries embedded in Singapore’s Information Fusion Centre at Changi Naval Base. This facilitates real-time information-sharing and coordination of operational responses to incidents at sea.

This theme of cooperation at sea, I am glad to note, will be taken up at the International Maritime Security Conference, co-hosted with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

IMDEX Asia

I have painted the context in which IMDEX Asia is held. Yes, it is a trade show and I wish you good business. Yes, it is an opportunity and a very rich and intense opportunity for networking and I wish you good partnerships and exchanges. But I would like to remind us all that there is a more serious effort here. We are at a point of Asia which holds great promise - trade, human resource, demographic dividends. An Asia that is rising, that can promise to be one of the engines of global growth that we so badly need. If we do it right, the next decade can hold great promises and great fulfillment for all of us. But if we get it wrong, if we go back to the era where I have painted, it may be missed golden opportunities.  This year, we have the participation of more than 50 navies and maritime enforcement agencies, and around 190 exhibitors from around the world. I am very thankful that many ships are taking part in the warship display, including the USS Freedom, the United States Navy’s first Littoral Combat Ship, as part of its maiden deployment to the region. I am looking very much forward to visiting that Littoral Combat Ship, USS Freedom.

So during the next three days of exhibition, conferences and exercises, I wish you excellent opportunities to build and strengthen partnerships. I am confident that your interactions will spur greater understanding, cooperation and trust to help us achieve the goal of peaceful seas and continued prosperity for all.

On that note, I am happy to declare IMDEX Asia 2013 open. Thank you very much.