MAIN AND DEVELOPMENT ESTIMATES OF SINGAPORE FOR THE - FINANCIAL YEAR 1ST APRIL, 1974 TO 31ST MARCH, 1975
The criterion then was that the political climate in the country must be conducive to the setting up of a mission which would not only help to further Singapore's national interest but would also facilitate communications and exchange of views with the receiving State to the mutual interest of Singapore and the State concerned. For the sake of economy, it was also essential that the country should be strategically placed, thus facilitating communications and exchange of views with countries in the region through the expedience of multiple accreditation. Thus it was that in 1966 missions were established in London to cover not only Great Britain but also Western Europe; in Canberra and Wellington to cover also other countries in the Australian region, and so on. The mission established in Cairo in 1967 was to cover the North African states and one of the Arab countries, which is Lebanon. Indeed, the Ambassador in Cairo is concurrently accredited to three other countries, namely, Ethiopia, Yugoslavia and Pakistan. However, the rapid changes that have and are taking place in the international scene, particularly in West Asia, have made it necessary for an assessment of the adequacy or otherwise of our present representation in West Asia. This has led me to believe, especially after our recent visit to the West Asian countries, that it will be to the mutual interest and benefit of Singapore and West Asian countries themselves that two or three missions be set up in certain West Asian countries. But the setting up of those missions has to be gradual, that is to say, we could first set them up at consulate status and at a later stage raise them to embassy status. Turning now to the second question posed by the Member for Geylang Serai relating to the continued presence of a Charge d'Affaires instead of an Ambassador in Cairo, since that Ambassador became our Ambassador in Jakarta, the Member may not be aware that it involves time to select a person with the necessary skill and qualities for appointment as Ambassador. As language is a basic tool of a diplomat, the problem of selecting an Ambassador to the Arab Republic of Egypt has been compounded by the dearth of prominent Arab-speaking citizens of Singapore. However, efforts to select a suitable person are still being made. As to the Member's other questions such as why do we have very few foreign missions in Arab countries, and his experience on his pilgrimage to Mecca where he was asked by Arabs he met in the holy city as to where Singapore was, and whether it was independent or not, I can only say that it is quite possible that not only Arabs but also people of other nationalities anywhere in the world might not know about conditions in Singapore and whether or not it is independent. I do not think that Mecca is the only place where the people arc perhaps not so informed or ignorant about Singapore's political status. We can find as many such people all over the world as there are Singaporeans also, who are ignorant of conditions in other countries. In that connection also, it is known to all of us here that not only have we not got many representations or missions in Arab countries other than Cairo and Beirut, but in fact, in Singapore itself, there are only two representations or missions of Arab countries. They are the Arab Republic of Egypt and Saudi Arabia, although many more Arab countries exist not only in West Asia but also in North Africa. The Member for Geylang Serai also made reference to the attempted sabotage in Singapore by what he called Arabs. They are, to be precise, Palestinians. He said that possibly they came here without knowing that Singapore was independent, and that they attempted to sabotage the refineries at Pulau Bukom. I am rather skeptical of his reasons because the two Palestinians, all of us know, were accompanied by two Japanese. They came in, I am told, with passports. I am sure that before they came into Singapore they had gone to some place to get visas. Wherever they had gone to, they would have found out that Singapore is independent. To say that the two Arabs were ignorant of Singapore's independence would be perhaps out of place, particularly when they were with two Japanese Red Army guerillas. The other point that the Member made was that the action was directed towards Singapore. It is now common knowledge that the guerillas themselves said that their action at Pulau Bukom was not directed against Singapore or the people of Singapore and that they had done it to support the revolutionary struggle of the Vietnamese people. There was one other point which the Member for Geylang Serai had made which I cannot remember. Perhaps he might want to raise it later. The Member for Anson mentioned about security. What security measures are being arranged at our missions abroad? The practice is to send an officer, trained in security, to missions as soon as a chancery building has been rented out or purchased. His task is to study the physical security arrangement required to make the chancery secure from intrusion. In practically all our chanceries there is a strong room in which classified materials are safely kept. Whenever possible, windows and doors giving access to the chancery are reinforced by installing grills. In chanceries with a wall-fence, strands of barbed wire have been mounted on the wall-fence to provide additional security. In certain missions there are officers trained in security amongst the Singapore staff. In chanceries which are housed in a block of offices, grill doors have been installed as a security measure, but generally there are security guards to look after the safety of a block of offices in which our chancery is housed, for example, our chanceries in Tokyo and Manila. However, there is now under review the security system in existence in all our chanceries generally. A trained officer is being sent to our missions for this purpose. These systems vary with the locality and requirements of the owner of the building in which our chanceries are accommodated. If, by the expression "to intensify security arrangements", the Member for Anson has in mind the presence in our chanceries of uniformed guards, then I should like to point out that under Article 22 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, `The receiving state is under a special duty to take all appropriate steps to protect the premises of the missions against intrusion or damage and to prevent any disturbance of the peace of the missions or impairment of its dignity.' So the Member will appreciate that in view of the provisions of Article 22 of the Vienna Convention, it would not be a good diplomatic move to post our own security officers to missions. However, to allay fears of the Member for Anson about the security of our chanceries abroad, I should like to state that a review of the existing physical security arrangements in our missions has already begun. Two Members asked why there were many Charge d'Affaires manning our missions abroad and why they should not be replaced by Ambassadors or High Commissioners. The fact is that in all our missions abroad there are only four Charge d'Affaires, as compared with a total of 16 heads of missions, that is, Ambassadors and High Commissioners. The number of Charge d'Affaires is therefore not unduly large. There have been considerable difficulties in finding suitable candidates to head our overseas missions, and sometimes it has been found that rather than have an ineffective head from the point of view of experience, language qualifications or administrative capabilities, it is better to have a Charge d'Affaires who is properly qualified to carry out these important representational functions in the country to which he is accredited. In fact, the inference might be that Charge d'Affaires are not as effective as Ambassadors. Well, this need not be so, whether they be our own Charge d'Affaires or those of other countries accredited to Singapore. There are, for example, several Charge d'Affaires in Singapore who have been here for many years and they have carried out their functions effectively. For example, from one of the Arab countries themselves, although they have an embassy here, it has never been manned by an Ambassador. Ever since the embassy of the former United Arab Republic, now Arab Republic of Egypt, was set up here, they have always had a Charge d'Affaires as head of mission. Again, because of the difficulties of finding suitable ambassadors and also because the Singapore Foreign Service is a very young one, which will not for some time produce career officers to fill head of mission appointments, it is desirable to continue to appoint Charge d'Affaires. Because of its status and position, Charge d'Affaires can be found from the more senior Foreign Service officers. This system permits also the opportunity for Foreign Service officers to gain experience and knowledge as well as the training necessary for them to be promoted to the higher appointments in the Foreign Service. In regard to standards and effectiveness, I am pleased to be able to inform the Member who raised the question that in spite of the absence of a long established tradition of diplomacy, our diplomats have quickly acquired the expertise and experience which have enabled them very effectively to represent our national interests on a global basis. Our diplomats have exercised a high degree of flexibility in the use of limited manpower resources available to them. They have continued to show themselves very capable of reacting pragmatically to international developments and in the face of increasing complexities in international relations and diplomacy, our officers have successfully assumed the responsibilities of the modern diplomat. Their objective assessment and appreciation of major political trends have helped Singapore to adjust and cope with the tremendous changes in the world since 1965. The quality of our overseas missions is, by any measure of international standard, satisfactory. The Singapore Foreign Service as a whole has made significant contributions to the political and economic well-being of Singapore. 6.15 p.m.