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Singapore hosts Third Proliferation Security Initiative Exercise
27 September 2016
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Senior Minister of State for Defence and Foreign Affairs Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman officiated at the opening ceremony of the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) exercise, Exercise Deep Sabre 2016, at the Changi Command and Control Centre this morning.
During his opening address, Dr Maliki highlighted the value of having exercises like Exercise Deep Sabre 2016 to prevent the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), their delivery systems and related material, given the evolution of counter-proliferation issues, and the need for a coordinated approach among different agencies. He said: " Given the variety of ways and means that proliferators can exploit, the international community must constantly develop innovative and effective methods to address these challenges…This Whole-of-Government approach to counter-proliferation requires coordinated efforts among enforcement, intelligence and military agencies, port and civil aviation authorities, and industry players." He also highlighted Singapore's firm support for the PSI. He said, "No one state has the resources and ability to single-handedly address this transnational and multifaceted problem…As a small country located astride key sea lines of communication, Singapore recognises that we have an important role to play in the common fight against the proliferation of WMDs." Dr Maliki also shared on some of Singapore's efforts to combat proliferation, such as the Information Fusion Centre which facilitates information sharing and collaboration between international partners.
This year's exercise, which is held from 27 to 30 September, involves more than 800 personnel from 21 countries. Exercise participants will take part in a series of shore and sea activities designed to promote capacity building among participating countries. This includes a table-top policy simulation involving representatives from border control, customs, defence, foreign affairs, legal and military agencies on key counter-proliferation policy dilemmas; a simulated maritime interdiction of a merchant vessel suspected of carrying illegal WMD-related materials; and a port search demonstration on a shipping container suspected of containing WMD-related materials led by Singapore Customs, together with the Singapore Armed Forces Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Explosives (CBRE) Defence Group and Singapore Civil Defence Force. The programme also includes an academic seminar, where Professor Rajesh Basrur from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Katsuhisa Furukawa, a former member of the UN Panel of Experts established pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 1874 (2009), and representatives from PSI countries and agencies will brief on key counter-proliferation issues and trends.
The PSI is a multinational initiative launched in 2003 to encourage international cooperation to stop the proliferation of WMD, their delivery systems, and related materials. To date, 105 countries around the world have endorsed the PSI. Exercise Deep Sabre 2016 is held under the PSI Asia-Pacific Exercise Rotation series. This is the third time Singapore is hosting a PSI exercise. Singapore will continue its efforts in the PSI by hosting the PSI Operational Experts Group meeting in 2017.
The 21 countries that attended Exercise Deep Sabre 2016, including those that only attended the opening ceremony, are: Australia, Cambodia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, the UK, the US and Vietnam.
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