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The Republic of Singapore has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. It has, however, voted in favor of every pro-ban UN General Assembly resolution since 1996, including UN General Assembly Resolution 56/24M in November 2001 calling for universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty. In July 2002, Singapore’s Ambassador to the United States stated, “Singapore is against the indiscriminate use of anti-personnel landmines (APLs), especially against civilians. However, we believe that the legitimate security concerns and right to self-defence of states should not be disregarded.”[1] The Ministry of Defense has told Landmine Monitor that Singapore is reserving the right to use antipersonnel mines until an alternative is found.[2]
Singapore did not attend the Third Meeting of States Parties in September 2001 or the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in January and May 2002. Singapore is not a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), however, it attended as an observer the Third Annual Conference of States Parties to Amended Protocol II and the Second Review Conference in December 2001 in Geneva.
Singapore and Burma were the only ASEAN countries that did not participate in the “Landmines in Southeast Asia” regional seminar held in Bangkok on 13-15 May 2002. The meeting, hosted by Thailand, focused on the regional responses to the landmine problem. Singapore also did not attend the regional seminar on stockpile destruction hosted by Malaysia in August 2001.
A Campaign to Ban Landmines was launched in Singapore on 16 June 2001, with a week of activities organized by The Think Centre in cooperation with the Bangkok-based Nonviolence International. The Think Centre participated in the August 2001 Malaysia stockpile destruction meeting and the May 2002 regional landmine meeting in Thailand. They issued a press release criticizing Singapore’s failure to attend the meetings.[3]
Singapore Technologies Kinetics Ltd. continues to produce antipersonnel landmines.[4] The Ambassador of Singapore to the United States told Landmine Monitor in July 2002, “Production of landmines in Singapore is strictly controlled. ST Kinetics is the only company that manufactures landmines. The APLs produced are solely for the use by our armed forces for self-defence purposes. Singapore has, since February 1998, declared an indefinite moratorium on the export of all types of APLs.”[5]
In December 2000, a Ministry of Defense representative stated that Singapore stockpiles antipersonnel mines for “training and defensive purposes only.” He noted, “Such training for APLs and removal techniques is done in Singapore.”[6] The number of mines in stockpile is not known. Singapore Technologies Kinetics Limited is carrying out ongoing destruction of expired antipersonnel mines by demolition, on behalf of the Ministry of Defense.[7]
Singapore is not mine-affected. Singapore has not contributed to international humanitarian mine action programs.
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[1] Letter from Chan Heng Chee, Singapore Ambassador to the United States, to Mary Wareham, Coordinator, Landmine Monitor, 22 July 2002.
[2] Interview with Andrew Tan, Policy Director, Ministry of Defense, Singapore, 29 March 2001.
[3] Email from Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan, Nonviolence International, Bangkok, 2 July 2002.
[4] Letter from Eric Chong, Singapore Ministry of Defense, 15 December 2000; interview with Andrew Tan, Ministry of Defense, Singapore, 29 March 2001. Two AP mines are produced: a plastic mine (VS-50) and a bounding mine (VS-69).
[5] Letter from Chan Heng Chee, Singapore Ambassador to the United States, to Mary Wareham, Coordinator, Landmine Monitor, 22 July 2002.
[6] Letter from Eric Chong, Ministry of Defense, 15 December 2000. The language would imply training in both how to use mines and how to clear them.
[7] Interview with Andrew Tan, Ministry of Defense, Singapore, 29 March 2001. Email from Andrew Tan, Ministry of Defense, Singapore, 12 April 2001.
