Meet The Ambassador

SINGAPORE-US STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON TRACK:
An Exclusive Interview with Ambassador Frank Lavin by Augustine Anthuvan, Asst Programme Director, Radio Singapore International, MediaCorp Radio
May 8, 2004

As Singapore and the United States are on track in forging security accord, we explore what this strategic framework will mean for the two countries.

Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong's visit to Washington DC has helped to further cement the strong relations and collaborations between Singapore and the US.

Prime Minister Goh, who was in the US capital for five days, met with President George W Bush and other key administration members.

Mr Goh's frank discussions with members of the Bush administration were wide ranging, but the issues like the global fight against terrorism and the war in Iraq figured high on their agenda.

Of particular significance is the ongoing work to develop a strategic framework agreement on security and defence between Singapore and the United States. Although its on track, few details of the agreement have been made public, but it will be a wide-ranging one to expand cooperation in areas such as counter-terrorism, counter-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, joint military exercises, training, policy dialogues and defence technology

During his visit, Mr Goh also briefed US officials about the developments in Southeast Asia, and wrapped up his US visit, with a speech at the
Council on Foreign Relations, a leading think tank in Washington.

At the Council meeting, Prime Minister Goh said tha while the United States has the capacity to lead the geopolitical battle against the Islamic terrorists, he cautioned that Washington would need to do more to lead the ideological battle against them.

For more on the significance of Prime Minister Goh's recent trip to the US, Augustine Anthuvan spoke to US Ambassador to Singapore Frank Lavin who was in Washington.

“Well this was an important get-together. This is part of ongoing consultations. I think both countries make a special effort to try to sit down on a regular basis, even at the most senior levels. In part because the countries are so far away, that unless you’re willing to make these trips, you miss some of that personal contact. So this is the third time that the Prime Minister and the President have sat down, one on one meeting. Prime Minister Goh’s second trip to Washington and about six-seven months ago President Bush was able to get to Singapore, so they’ve had three one on one meetings. They’ve had other series of meetings at APEC and at international fora, but these one on ones are particularly important because they can share views in a relaxed setting and get to know each other a little bit better as well”.

I’m sure that the war on terrorism figured high on the agenda, so what sort of developments were discussed in that area?

“Yes you’re absolutely right that in general the war on terrorism both what’s going on in Iraq now and the need to make sure that Iraq has a successful transition to a stable society run by Iraqis. That was an important part of the discussion. As well as South East Asia, and are the countries of the region coming to terms with the challenge posed by terrorists in South East Asia. Both of those elements figured very heavily in the discussions.

The US has raised concerns about threats of maritime terrorism along the Straits of Malacca. Did that come up in the discussions as to the sort of engagement of the US together with perhaps a role for Singapore to play as well?

“Well that was not a major part of these bilateral discussions but I know it is an item of concern both in Singapore and in Washington. I think from out point of view, we’re still in very preliminary phases of consulting with friends in the region to get their input but look I think all the countries in South East Asia are in agreement that there is a potential terrorist challenge in the region and that it might be sea-borne or sea based. So we need to think very carefully about what kind of systems or procedures we should have in place in terms of intelligence sharing and coordination and so forth to make sure we can deal with that challenge. We’ve done a lot of steps similarly in air traffic and air travel but we really haven’t those kinds of steps with sea traffic”.

Of course what grabbed the headlines was the strategic framework that’s in the making between US and Singapore. And of course everybody is keen to find out a lot more details, but this is early days still. Still, could you give us a broad overview on what this is going to lead to?

“Sure well you know the US and Singapore have had a security cooperation agreement in place since 1990, an MOU - a memorandum of understanding. And this is when Singapore offered to host some US forces after we left the Philippines in 1990. So we had a few folks in Singapore in Sembawang for 14 years now. Well we’re looking for ways to improve that cooperation, improve coordination. I think there was a desire even before 9/11 but what happened in 9/11 I think made all the countries interested in improving security cooperation. By the way if I may say, this kind of step ahead in the security relationship is somewhat analogous to what we worked out over the last two or three years on trade and commercial issues which is to say, we sat down to put together a free trade agreement with an …..lets remove impediment so the two countries can cooperate better. So we’re saying now lets take a look at the security side. Can our naval forces for example cooperate better when it comes to search and rescue at sea. Do we need to mine clearing exercises in case there is ever a mine threat in the Straits? Are there other areas where the two navies can work more closely together and this involves better communication links and more navy practicising, rehearsals and exercises. But that’s the whole point of the strategic framework agreement to get into some of these agreements and explore ways we can work more closely together”.

But of course security analysts and observers have pointed to the possibility that this might evolve into sort of a treaty between Singapore and the US, your thoughts on that?

“No I would discount that. I think both countries are very much interested in a friendly relationship and understanding and having into some degree of inter operability on the military side, some degree of coordination and collaboration, you never know when you’re going to have to work together on some issue. But I don’t think either country is interested or seeking any kind of formal treaty would have a mutual defence obligation, or require one country to participate in another country if there is a military attack. Look let me give you an example. Singapore had a battalion in Timor (East Timor). There could very well be a situation like that involved in UN peace keeping, that maybe US helps supply sea lift or air lift or communication. Or we supply a medical unit for a Singapore battalion or Singapore supplies a medical unit for some force the US is participating in. It might be a peace keeping mission or something similar. We ought to sort some of these issues out now when there is nothing pressing us, then to wait in case there is some kind of emergency and we all have to scramble”.

But looking at the arena of events that have been taking place in the last few months, the latest of course being the concerns in Southern Thailand, on top of the container security initiative (CSI) and some of the other major projects that are already underway, what sort of initiatives are we going to see in the short to medium term?

“Yes as you discussed, as a short term we’ve launched the container security initiative, which helps Singapore and the US get a better feel for what kind of cargo is transiting Singapore, that’s very important for …security in Singapore and also the US. A somewhat similar initiative is called the proliferation security initiative (PSI) which has to do with understanding what weapons of mass destruction might be in the neighbourhood. What kind of missile technology might be in the neighbourhood. And look for ways that PSI countries can participate to make sure that there is no illegal trafficking in those kinds of goods. Some of that might affect Singapore, some of the that might affect an onward destination country but regardless Singapore doesn’t want to unwittingly facilitate arms smuggling of WMDs. So Singapore is a willing participant in this initiative as is the US”.

To wrap up Ambassador, Prime Minister Goh of course also touched on the concerns over divide between Muslims and non muslims as far as fanatical ideologies are concerned. What are your thoughts, you’re there in the US right now, what’s the sentiment like in the US in response to his comments?

“Yes, I think his remarks were well received. I think he provided very good food for thought because here is the point. We’ve got a short term issue with terrorism, stopping terrorism and putting terrorists out of business. And we need to do that. But there is a long term issue here as well, which is "How is the Muslim world evolving?" Can these countries, some of which have a number of domestic problems in the Muslim world, can they evolve to societies that have successful economies, job mobility, education systems and opportunities for their citizens, and so forth. And what role is there for the United States? And top of that, US in some segments of the Muslim world has a substantial image problem. We're not liked, we're not perceived as fair, and this is not healthy I would say for the United States or for those Muslim societies, when there is not an absence of goodwill, communication can break down, and this bad news can feed upon itself. So I think United States has to make more of an effort to outreach into the Muslim societies and to explain our side of the story. We also have to do what we can to help those societies move in the right way. So we have a long term challenge there and I think the Prime Minister was very right in putting a spotlight on it”.

US Ambassador to Singapore Frank Lavin speaking with Augustine Anthuvan.

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