Speeches
Speech by Minister of State for Defence Desmond Choo at the Third Plenary “Defense Industrial Ecosystem and Global Supply Chain Resilience” at the 15th Seoul Defense Dialogue on 8 September 2026
8 September 2026
Thank you to Professor Choi. Annyeonghaseyo (Translation: Hello).
Thank you very much, and good afternoon to all our distinguished guests.
Introduction
I would like to start off by thanking the Republic of Korea (ROK) and our organisers for allowing us to speak on this panel and for doing an outstanding job in organising the Seoul Defense Dialogue. So, congratulations and thank you.
Supply Chain Disruptions
Now we are watching in real time how quickly the just-in-time supply chains we have built over decades can come under strain. The unresolved conflict in the Middle East reminds us on a daily basis how fragile our supply chains are. Singapore is not spared. As Singapore’s Foreign Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan observed earlier this year, some 90 percent of oil transiting through the Strait of Hormuz is bound for Asia – Singapore being one of those destinations. Now beyond just energy supplies, many other goods transit the Strait of Hormuz as many of you would know.
But the risks are not confined to one particular region. Shipping volumes in the Panama Canal have been reduced of late because of an ongoing drought due to the super El Niño. Members of this audience might recall that not too long ago, the Suez Canal was accidentally blocked by a container ship, the Ever Given. At the same time, intensifying geopolitical rivalry in the form of export controls and trade restrictions is increasingly shaping access to critical technologies like advanced inference chips and critical materials like refined rare earth metals. Now these episodes remind us, time and again, that a single chokepoint can cascade into serious consequences thousands of miles from the origin, and lead to shortages in diverse areas from fertilisers to shipping containers. Defence supply chains are not excepted from these risks. And perhaps even more so.
In today’s uncertain and fragmented world, all states face heightened security risks from supply chain disruptions. Now, even major powers like the United States and China are perhaps also not spared. Now what more like many of the smaller states like Singapore here today, and middle powers like the Republic of Korea (ROK)?
The Importance of Partnerships
In an ideal world, every country would want to localise the production of its critical capabilities and stockpile everything of importance. That, however, is difficult to achieve and sustain in practice – even for the largest powers. This is probably one reason why the United States, despite its formidable defence industrial base, has established reciprocal Security of Supply Arrangements with 19 partners to strengthen mutual access to defence resources during disruptions. That is also the reason why Singapore’s response is not to retreat from an interconnected world, but to become more resilient within it and strengthen the partnerships.
With this comes a recognition that the fast-evolving strategic environment demands that we re-think supply chains and the role of logisticians – the people who does logistics – who design, operate, and sustain them. Commercial, dual-use, and defence technologies are becoming intertwined along with their supply chains and ecosystems. For a small and open economy like Singapore, building every capability across these varied disciplines and technologies is an impossibility. So therefore, my key message is this: Securing our defence supply chains is a positive-sum effort; we are simply stronger together. In a more contested world, a strong web of trusted partnerships can only be a strategic advantage. By combining our collective strengths across leading technologies, expertise, and innovation ecosystems, we can turn our partnerships into a source of resilience.
Singapore’s Approach
Perhaps let me share how Singapore is adopting three broad lines of effort to achieve these partnerships.
First, we are working to establish government-to-government platforms to strengthen supply chain linkages and to deepen partnerships with trusted partners. Earlier this year, we had signed Supply Chain Resilience Agreements with New Zealand and Australia respectively to secure the assured flow of essential economic supplies such as food and fuel. In the defence sector, we have signed agreements with key defence partners, such as the United States, Australia, France, Germany, and Italy, to strengthen the supply and the resilience of supply chains for our defence equipment and platforms. These agreements provide for various areas of cooperation, such as the reciprocal priority delivery of defence equipment, cross-sustainment of common platforms, promotion of industry partnerships, and exchanges of supply chain information and best practices. Crucially, these efforts underline our understanding that production capacity is deterrence. Such cooperation on a more integrated defence industrial ecosystem among like-minded partners raises the baseline of shared capabilities and places us in a better position to weather supply chain disruptions. This, in turn, contributes to collective deterrence and preserves collective peace.
Second, we are keen to expand our defence technology cooperation with emerging defence powerhouses like the ROK. Singapore recognises the ROK’s advanced and highly capable defence ecosystem, underpinned by world-class defence companies, a strong industrial base, and sophisticated Research & Development (R&D) capabilities. The ROK has also made significant strides in the sale of high-end defence platforms to countries in Southeast Asia. On the defence technology front, both the ROK and Singapore have growing interests to partner in R&D on critical emerging technologies such as unmanned systems and chemical and biological defence. The ROK’s Agency for Defense Development has been a key partner in this effort. There is still considerable potential in our bilateral defence technology cooperation. Singapore looks forward to doing more with the ROK’s defence agencies and companies, and with many of the countries present here today.
Third, we will continue to invest in our defence industry as a source of value for Southeast Asia, including in areas like logistics, sustainment, and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services. This means not only growing our physical capacity but also investing in the technologies and capabilities that will keep our industry competitive. For example, Singapore is investing in our aerospace sector in areas like predictive maintenance, AI, and advanced manufacturing and repair technologies to make our MRO services more efficient and effective. We are also strengthening partnership across the private sector, especially among our small and medium enterprises (SMEs). After all, a supply chain is only as resilient as its weakest link. The locally developed Hunter Armoured Fighting Vehicle, for example, involved more than 100 local SMEs producing over 1,400 parts for each vehicle. Finally, investments must also be made into the training and development of our logisticians. As our supply chains become more complex, there is value to bringing these experts together to exchange experiences, share best practices, and learn from one another. We will continue to build on these strengths, while welcoming foreign defence companies to establish and expand their regional operations in Singapore.
Conclusion
In summary, in today’s uncertain world, investments in resilience can no longer be regarded as an overhead cost. It is in fact an enabling condition for everything else. For a small country like Singapore, the resilience of our supply chain is fundamental to our defence. However, this resilience can only be built in partnership with others. Singapore looks forward to working with like-minded partners to secure and advance our defence industrial interests.
Thank you very much. Gamsahamnida (Translation: Thank you).
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