Singapore's internal security options: When lethal force might be used

Some of us may feel that riots in Singapore are an unlikely scenario. Singapore has been spared social unrest, but there are elements in Singapore's national security apparatus who train hard to meet and defeat far fetched scenarios.

The red vehicles you see above are used by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) Special Operations Command (SOC). The SOC unit they belong to is known as the Police Task Force (PTF), otherwise known as the riot police.

The vehicle on the right was introduced several years ago to replace the Command Vehicle on the left. The old Command Vehicle dates from a design from pre-Independence days when modified buses were deployed for riot control. The concept successfully quelled riots in Malaya as it gave law enforcement officers a raised platform from which to marshal and deploy riot police against street protests. Riot police from Malaysia's Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) still use Command Vehicles of a similar design as the turret gives them an elevated view of the street scene.

The Command Vehicle includes a turret with an observation deck for four to five PTF officers, a bell for sounding riot police formation changes (continuous rings means "Baton charge!") and a 1234X light box for giving visual cues at night. The flashing "X" signals a baton charge.

Please click on the image to enlarge it and take a close look at the open signboard. This signboard is usually closed up when the PTF troop is deployed for duty. Many of you would be seeing this sign's wording for the first time.

When PTF officers display this in public, it is time to look for cover.

It appears that the old Command Vehicle never deployed the signboard in anger. Had Singapore's riot police wielded the sign against street protestors, such an action would have damaged Singapore's international image.

There may be occasions when brute force is require and where mob violence must be met with terminal intensity. This could include occasions anarchist groups bent on destruction unleash organised mayhem on the city state. Should push come to shove and the safety catches on firearms are put to "fire", Singapore must be prepared to present a credible case for the just use of force to an international audience.

On the home front, the government of the day must fulfill its social contract with Singaporeans by keeping such powerful forces on a tight hold. The sweeping laws in Singapore must never be abused and SPF and Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) capabilities must always be employed responsibly.

Now that a new vehicle has been introduced, it is time to reconsider the use of such language (DISPERSE OR WE FIRE) as it may not work in the 21st century for the following reasons:

1. Many Singaporeans have seen or experienced a real riot. Deploying a sign that says "DISPERSE OR WE FIRE" tells the MTV generation that action is going to take place soon. It is a free show worthy of YouTube and may encourage gawkers to hang around the demonstration site, thus negating the crowd dispersal value of this sign. For example, Gen Ys may linger to watch the action just as many Singaporeans slow down to rubber neck a road traffic accident.

2. It is interesting to speculate the concept of operations (CONOPS) that would see PTF officers deploy such a sign. What sort of firearms would be discharged? What are the conditions for a ceasefire? When the PTF warns that it will open fire, does it mean non-lethal or less than lethal munitions such as CS gas, baton rounds or obscurants? Or does this mean single shots from Taurus revolvers, MP-5 submachine guns or is this a warning that the PTF are about to turn the place into a free fire zone?

3. Who will be the target? Angry Singaporeans or disgruntled foreign workers protesting pay and work conditions? Both groups must be handled with extreme care. Any Singaporean government that draws blood from Singaporeans without just cause loses its social contract with the people.

Shooting foreigners opens a new can of worms. For example, no Malaysian general will stand idly by if Malaysians protesting in Singapore are shot dead or wounded by PTF gunfire. Our northern neighbours can be expected to take a decisive stand against political violence and the situation could escalate alarmingly fast.

4. Where are the troops trained to aim at? A head shot for a brain stem kill? Or a shot at the legs to incapacitate? A leg shot would kill a person within six minutes if a femoral artery is ruptured. What does the CONOPS state if protestors are unarmed? This brings to mind the classic response from South African authorities during the height of the apartheid era when they were accused of using live ammunition against blacks and coloureds. They are quoted as saying: "We will fire rubber bullets, when they throw rubber bricks". Classic.

5. The message "DISPERSE OR WE FIRE" is ungrammatical. To be sure, it sounds like the kind of threat Asian bad guys from a James Bond movie or Dr Fu Manchu show would spout. Singaporeans may be deterred if the sign said simply "Disperse Or We Will Arrest U" or "Disperse Or Fine $1K". The Malay version, "Bersurai Jika Tidak Kami Tembak", is roughly translated as "Disperse, if you do not we fire" - not quite a direct translation of the English text.

6. The sign spells a bonanza for any photo journalist covering a riot. Imagine a picture with unarmed demonstrators in the foreground with the sign in Singapore's four official languages in the background. It says it all: that an unarmed crowd is about to be gunned down. Magazines and media agencies will pay good money for such action shots and the price such publicity will exact on Singapore's international image will be high.

7. As unpalatable or unlikely as nightmare scenarios are to most of us, the hard truth is that our security forces train for many eventualities that may threaten to destabilise our fragile city state. One may deem such situations implausible or improbable, but authorities think otherwise.

Singapore Armed Forces quake relief in New Zealand: RSAF C-130 Hercules transport planes airlift supplies for NZ quake survivors

While the rest of Singapore took time off this weekend, Singaporean C-130 pilots, navigators and airmen from the Air Combat Command's Transport Group were hard at work ferrying earthquake survivors and relief supplies in New Zealand.

The current Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) deployment in support of NZ-led quake relief operations is the Singapore air force's largest and longest range deployment since the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. To get to New Zealand, RSAF C-130 pilots and airmen flew a single distance trip of around 8,400km from Paya Lebar Air Base (WSAP) to Christchurch (CHC). The C-130s took off from WSAP on Wednesday morning just after 0400hrs Hotel.

Their flight would not have been possible without the RSAF ground support elements who loaded, fuelled and prepared the C-130s for their long flight. RSAF navigators were also instrumental in shepherding the pair of turboprop transports across the vast Australian continent. The flight took them from Paya Lebar Air Base to RAAF Darwin, then to RAAF Richmond and across the Tasman Sea to New Zealand.

The contribution of the RSAF Air Movement Centre (AMC) and Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) Foreign Military Liaison Branch in arranging flight clearances is also acknowledged.

The RSAF contribution was spearheaded by a KC-135R tanker/transport from 112 Squadron.

Early on Wednesday morning, 112 Sqn pilots and airmen flew a KC-135R tanker/transport to Christchurch for quake relief work. A jet-powered sibling of the Boeing 707 airliner, the KC-135R flies faster than the propellor-driven C-130 transports. The KC-135R was thus tasked to fly as pathfinder with the advance party for Singapore's earthquake relief team, which the government of New Zealand accepted for the NZ-led relief operation in South Island's largest city. The team comprises SAF and Singapore Civil Defence Force rescuers.

RSAF C-130s from 122 Squadron are no strangers to New Zealand skies, having participated in the Sky Train series of tactical airlift exercises with the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF).

From time to time, the RNZAF also despatches aircraft to Singapore for war games held under the auspices of the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA).

Well done, 112 Squadron and 122 Squadron. Fly safe.

(Note: MINDEF should really work on its paragraphing. See the chunky news release below.)


SAF C-130s assist in Christchurch earthquake

Source: Ministry of Defence, Singapore
Posted: 27 Feb 2011, 1650 hours (Time is GMT +8 hours)

Over the weekend, two Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) C-130 military transport aircraft, which arrived in Christchurch on 24 Feb 2011, were dispatched to assist the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) to airlift humanitarian aid and supplies to victims of the earthquake. The aircraft have made two supply runs to transport bottled water and welfare supplies, as well as a decontamination team and equipment into Christchurch. The aircraft also evacuated 138 civilians out of Christchurch to Wellington and Auckland. The SAF has made available the two C-130s currently based out of Whenuapai Air Base near Auckland for use by the NZDF as part of the ongoing assistance provided by the SAF for the disaster relief efforts in Christchurch, New Zealand.

This morning, the NZDF Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General (LG) Richard Rhys Jones visited the SAF team and expressed his appreciation for the SAF's contributions to the rescue operations and disaster relief efforts thus far. Singapore Contingent Commander Colonel Melvyn Ong, who met with LG Jones, said, "The Singapore contingent remains committed to assisting the NZDF with rescue operations and to provide humanitarian aid to the residents whose lives and homes have been affected by the earthquake. We hope that our assistance has gone some way towards relieving the suffering of the earthquake victims."

Since Friday, two medical officers from the SAF team were deployed with the NZDF mobile primary healthcare team to welfare centres in Christchurch where they provided medical assistance to civilians affected by the earthquake. The 116-strong SAF team continues to be deployed to help the NZDF with cordon operations to ensure the safety and security of the residents whose lives and homes have been affected by the earthquake.
- ENDS -

Libya in crisis - Use of mercenaries to put down political unrest and its relevance to Singapore's internal security

Please vote in the latest poll. The context is a face off between the armed forces and unarmed citizens staging a political protest, as seen in Bahrain, Egypt, Libya and Yemen in recent weeks. If your officer orders you to shoot, would you do so? Many thanks.

Political unrest in the Middle East is the closest thing to the Domino Effect coming true.

After leadership changes in Tunisia and Egypt, the spotlight is now on Libya with the country gripped by civil unrest. The kingdom of Bahrain also pops up in the media with its on again/off again political violence that pits Bahraini against Bahraini.

In recent weeks, we have seen Egyptian security forces lack the will to shoot unarmed Egyptians. But their Libyan neighbours have hired guns to do the state's dirty work.

African mercenaries are said to be prowling key cities with shoot-to-kill orders. Reports from Libya claim that the brutality of these hired guns has in turn prompted some Libyan soldiers to turn on the regime, fuelling a spiral of violence that is tearing the country apart.

The role of mercenaries in keeping the peace by waging war on civilians appears to have bought the embattled Libyan regime some time. It may die soon, but there is little denying that mercenaries have put the regime on life support.

It would appear that when ordered to open fire on civilians, thinking soldiers do reason that they are not paid or conscripted to shoot the very people they train to defend. The reluctance of citizen soldiers, who are mainly conscripts and reservists, to pull the trigger when ordered to do so will cast doubt on the role of the military during a national uprising.

Mercenaries have no such moral dilemma.

Mercenaries/hired guns/private military contractors are loyal to whoever signs their pay cheque. Many will have no compunction using deadly force against unarmed gatherings. This lack of moral compass and their dependable nature during times of strife will make mercenaries sought after as life insurance by regimes worldwide.

To those familiar with Singapore's national security apparatus, the relevance of the points just raised will be obvious. But more on that in a bit.

The security situation in Bahrain sends mixed signals to defence and security watchers around the globe. Authorities there are said to have unleased military and security forces to gun down Bahrainis. But the response from the United States, which has based its 5th Fleet in the Arab kingdom, has been limited to restrained tongue wagging.

There was no Tiananmen redux after blood flowed in Bahrain. The muted response from Western leaders raises the poser whether a country can get away with shooting its own people so long as the bodycount does not hit a trigger point. And if so, despots would no doubt be keen to know that magic number.

One imagines that if a country is a major destination for American weapons makers and a host to US military forces, then the government of the day can get away with murder political violence.

This brings the discussion back to Singapore.

The city state has enjoyed 45 years of peace, progress and prosperity - this after a tumultous start to nationhood which has been hailed as the Singapore story.

In a worst-case scenario, a freak election result could boot out the government of the day. If Singaporeans unwittingly vote in a rogue government, a would-be despot would find that he (or she as the case may be, since there are many bad tempered and scheming Singaporean women out there) has at his/her disposal a host of instruments to muzzle dissent.

In this nightmare future, the new government of the day would also find that Singapore's importance to the US military presence in the Pacific Rim is a useful trump card. As with the case of Bahrain, this trump card is likely to buy the Republic some breathing space should the rogue government find a need to beat down protestors.

At present, the number of Nepali mercenaries in Singapore outnumbers that of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) units on standby as an Alert Red force.

The Nepalis form the Gurkha Contingent - an innocuous sounding set up that counts a brigade strength unit of highly-trained police officers. The GC is equipped with wheeled armour and has its own special forces unit with all the bells and whistles one would expect a SF team to possess.

The hard truth is that if a rogue government takes power some day, Singapore's citizens army will be powerless to stop an oppressive regime from clamping down on dissent using brute force.

Unlike National Service armies in Israel, Sweden and Switzerland, Singaporean NSmen are not allowed to bring their personal fire arms home. This means that a rogue government has little to worry about should it want to impose harsh measures against Singaporeans.

Placed in a similar conundrum as warfighters in the Middle East, SAF officers are unlikely to tolerate a situation should a rogue government order the GC to open fire on civilians. One can imagine a situation where SAF NSFs and NSmen deployed for "civil contingency operations" refuse to obey orders to open fire on unarmed protestors.

Even if the SAF plans to mount a counter strike, the forces at the disposal of Singapore's military can be quickly neutered by the GC. The Gurkhas have superior numbers vis-a-vis SAF standby forces in peacetime and, more importantly, have access to intelligence that alerts the powers-that-be of murmurings of dissent.

The value of intelligence in aiding the fight cannot be under-estimated. Astute information gatherers who can break into the SAF's decision making cycle can rein in the citizen's army before it mobilises for action. The LTIOV for internal security and civil contingency operations is short and the ability of Singapore's internal security apparatus to gather, process and act on time-sensitive intelligence makes it less likely the SAF can hatch a plot under the nose of a rogue government.

Singaporeans who have seen Gurkhas on duty at events such as the Singapore Air Show, Shangri-La Dialogue and high profile international conferences held in Singapore (IMF World Bank Meeting, APEC) will probably agree they stand out as disciplined professionals. Off duty, those you bump into during runs at Mount Vernon or at the East Coast Park are as friendly as they come.

But it is precisely this steel discipline, the fact that they are hard wired to follow orders without question, that worries me.

If the men in white are one day replaced by men in black (i.e. rogue government) who have nefarious intentions, street protests of the kind we have seen in the Middle East are unlikely to result in a change of government. Indeed, civil disobedience in Singapore is likely to be brutally suppressed.

I am unaware of any circuit breaker that could muzzle internal security forces such as the GC so long as Singapore's Prime Minister gets into his Parliament seat by the ballot box.

The elected President might be the people's saviour. But remember that this office was designed more to safeguard the Lion City's massive financial reserves than to hold back the goon squad internal security elements. A People's President may hold another key to the reserves, but he cannot hold back internal security operations and may find himself besieged in the Istana, powerless to intervene.

This nightmare scenario is unlikely to pan out anytime soon and is as likely to come true as the nightmare scenario of Malaysia invading Singapore.

Still, the SAF trains hard to defend Singapore against a full threat spectrum.

And defence aware Singaporean netizens should likewise be mindful of internal security scenarios that could trip up our fragile nation.

Singaporean rescuers in New Zealand: Operation Lion Heart image gallery

"Our team will stay for as long as necessary. This is part of our show of support to the people of New Zealand during this difficult period."
Mr K Shanmugam, Singapore's Minister for Home Affairs and Law.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) has shared the following images of its Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team now deployed in Christchurch to assist New Zealand authorities with quake relief operations.

Singapore has sent 55 SCDF officers and four search dogs to New Zealand under the banner of Operations Lion Heart.

The contingent commander for Ops Lion Heart is Lieutenant Colonel Ling Kok Yong, who is Commander of the 1^st Civil Defence Division. Based at Alexandra Fire Station, the 1st CD Division provides emergency response coverage for the southern parts of Singapore.

The team includes members of the SCDF Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART), which is the SCDF's crack rescue team, as well as SCDF officers trained, organised and supported for USAR work under demanding conditions.

Mr K Shanmugam, Singapore's Minister for Home Affairs and Law, said on Wednesday: "We are all deeply saddened at the loss of so many lives and the scale of the destruction. We are sending our SCDF officers including the DART Team to New Zealand to help - to rescue lives and help in the post-disaster relief efforts. The SCDF team has the experience, and the necessary equipment for the task. They will work with the NZ authorities and be deployed where assigned or needed."

All images courtesy of HQ SCDF. The assistance of the SCDF Public Affairs Department is appreciated.

Wednesday 23 Feb 2011, Singapore
Paya Lebar Air Base, 0300 Hotel, 23 February 2011

Send off: Mr K Shanmugam, Singapore's Minister for Home Affairs and Law and Assistant Commissioner (AC) Eric Yap, Acting Commissioner SCDF, were at Paya Lebar Air Base to send off the Lion Heart contingent. The SCDF Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team, codenamed Operation Lion Heart, were airlifted to New Zealand in two waves.

23 Feb 2011, New Zealand

Life savers: A Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team made up of an SCDF rescuer and his search dog comb the debris of a building along Gloucester Street, about 1km west of the SCDF's base camp at Latimer Square in Christchurch. This picture was taken around 7pm, Singapore time, on 23 Feb 2011.

Protect and save: SCDF rescuers use the keen sense of smell of various breeds of dogs to detect signs of life in debris fields.

Four SCDF search dogs are in Christchurch as part of the 55-member SCDF Operation Lion Heart USAR team. The danger of falling debris from aftershocks which rock the city occasionally is evident in this picture.

24 Feb 2011, New Zealand

Hand of friendship: Prime Minister of New Zealand, Mr John Key briefly spoke to Lieutenant Colonel Ling Kok Yong, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) Commander of the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Contingent during his visit to the Christchurch Art Gallery, which is now converted to a Crisis Management Centre.

The New Zealand PM was briefed on Singapore's contribution to the quake relief effort and met some of the rescuers deployed to NZ.

Singaporean soldiers join NZ-led quake relief effort

SAF Assists NZDF in Christchurch

Command Group Meeting: The commander of the Singapore contingent now in New Zealand, for quake relief operations, Colonel Melvyn Ong, speaking to his team upon arrival in Christchurch. The RSAF KC-135R from 112 Squadron that was instrumental in airlifting Singaporean rescuers to NZ looms in the background. (Photo credit: Ministry of Defence, Singapore)

Source: Ministry of Defence, Singapore
Posted: 23 Feb 2011, 1640 hours (Time is GMT +8 hours)

A 116-strong Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) team has begun to assist the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) and local authorities with rescue operations and providing humanitarian aid to victims of the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand since this morning. The SAF personnel have been deployed to help the NZDF with cordon operations to ensure the safety and security of the residents whose lives and homes have been affected by the earthquake.

Describing the team's efforts, Major Xu Youfeng, Operations Officer Headquarters Guards, said, "We have been working closely with the NZDF and other New Zealand authorities to assist in the conduct of earthquake relief operations since this morning. The NZDF and the locals have been warm and hospitable during our stay here and we are very appreciative of their friendship. We will do the very best we can to help the victims of the earthquake."

The SAF servicemen were participating in a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercise, codenamed Lion Walk, with the NZDF when the earthquake happened. Singapore also dispatched a 55-member Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) urban search and rescue team and an SAF command team to assist in the disaster relief efforts early this morning. The Singapore contingent departed from Paya Lebar Air Base in two RSAF C-130s and one KC-135 military aircraft. The KC-135 aircraft arrived in Christchurch this afternoon and will be evacuating civilians out of the earthquake zone to Auckland, New Zealand.

Ops Lion Heart

C-130s brakes off.

Second C-130 wheels up approx 0416H.

Best of luck to Ops Lion Heart.

Ops Lion Heart

C-130s warming up.