Hansard, Monday, 27 February 2023

1 Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) in each of the past three years, how much funding has been utilised for the Singapore Global Network Funding Programme; (b) which are the main countries and cities where this funding has been utilised; (c) how many applications for funding are received and what proportion of applications are approved; and (d) what measurable outcomes are attributable to this programme.

Mr Speaker, between August 2020 and December 2022, the Singapore Global Network Funding Programme (SGNFP) disbursed around $570,000 and supported close to 300 ground-up efforts around the world. About two-thirds of SGNFP applications were successful. These included funding for events such as networking sessions, forums, webinars, festive celebrations and partnerships on digital content creation.

These efforts support the Singapore Global Network (SGN) in broadening and deepening our overseas ties and network with family, friends and fans of Singapore. The programme has reached out to around 25,000 participants in more than 20 countries like Australia, China, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US), where many overseas Singaporeans are based.

Mr Gerald Giam.

I thank the Minister of State for her reply. Is the main objective of SGNFP to encourage Singaporean talent abroad to return to Singapore and contribute to our economy and our society. And if not, what is the SGN programme's main objective?

Secondly, what kind of events and activities were funded by SGN? The Minister of State mentioned that there was $570,000 that was spent. And how effective were they in achieving these objectives? I am not sure if I heard correctly that two-thirds were successful. What happens to the other one-third, then?

Mr Speaker, I want to thank the Member Mr Gerald Giam for his questions. I think he will agree with me that overseas Singaporeans are an integral part of the Singapore family. If you remember, SGN was launched in August 2020 and that replaced the Overseas Singaporeans Unit (OSU). [Please refer to "Clarification by Minister of State for Trade and Industry ", Official Report, 27 February 2023, Vol 95, Issue 87, Clarification section.]

The SGN has various programmes and one of the programmes is the one that the Parliamentary Question is about, the SGNFP which supports the SGN to broaden and deepen our overseas network of family and friends. Especially at the height of COVID-19, it was so important to make sure that they remained connected to Singapore, even as they were overseas expanding their networks.

Allow me to also share that today, within a short span of two-and-a-half years, and despite COVID-19 and the difficulty of organising events, the SGN now has more than 100,000 members around the world, including 15,000 C-suite executives. And there are close to 300 partners that collaborate with the SGN on various partnership initiatives, to do a few things and the aim of SGN is to do a few things: one, to promote networking and collaboration amongst Singaporeans and friends of Singapore; two, connect the community of family and friends of Singapore; and three, to provide platforms to share about opportunities and developments in Singapore and Southeast Asia.

The SGN team is also open to working with overseas Singaporeans who are exploring to come back to Singapore to work or to have them to come back because of their kids' education.

In terms of the numbers, I mentioned that, due to COVID-19, even though we could not have events, it is quite heartening to see that we had received 448 applications for the SGN and the SGNFP. Out of that, two-thirds of the applications were approved and out of those approved, 70% are Singaporeans, of which more than 60% are students.

So, it is an important platform to allow our students, our working professionals and business owners overseas to stay connected to Singapore through these various activities – whether it is webinar or over Zoom or physical sessions. I can tell you, National Day and Lunar New Year celebrations in the various cities are very well-received, especially when we bring Singaporean food.

I hope that answers the question.

Mr Gerald Giam.

I thank the Minister of State for her answer. Does SGN work closely with our Missions abroad to engage Singaporeans on domestic and foreign policy issues that matter to them overseas as well as their families back home? This is related to also my cut on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) later, on engaging Singaporeans on foreign policy.

I want to thank the Member for his supplementary question. Since the launch in August 2020, the SGN has replaced the OSU and is now sitting with the Economic Development Board. As part of that, the SGN team will work closely with not just the economic agencies, but also with MFA and our Missions, to allow Singaporeans, even though they cannot come back – for example, in the last three years, whether they are in Beijing or in other cities in Australia and the US – that they have a way to stay connected to Singapore and at the same time, to also understand the various refinements to the policies and current affairs as well.

2 Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for Communications and Information whether the Government will consider introducing plain language legislation to ensure clarity and accessibility of Government communications, as has been passed in the United States and New Zealand.

Mr Speaker, Sir, we do want to achieve better Government communications through plain and clear language. However, there are no plans to pursue this aim through legislation. Our public communications policy calls for plain language, so that messages are clear and accessible for members of the public. The Government Instruction Manual requires all public servants to write well and speak clearly. Communication is an essential function of Public Service and we need to do so in all four of our official languages.

Mr Speaker, the Government acknowledges that not all of its communications are written in a simple, concise and clear manner. However, introducing legislation is not the answer. Instead, we will pursue this aim through education, training, role-modelling and holding ourselves to high standards. The experience in other countries where legislation has been introduced suggests that our approach has merit.

This is ongoing work, with no short cuts. We will continue to remind ourselves and colleagues within Public Service to communicate in language that is simple, clear, precise, accurate and, ideally, concise.

Mr Leon Perera.

Thank you, Mr Speaker, and I appreciate the Senior Minister of State's reply. I just have one supplementary question, which is that, would the Government consider launching a whole-of-Government (WOG) movement to simplify language in Government communications, in a very concerted manner that is regularly reviewed.

Mr Speaker, Sir, with your permission, could I just read out one sentence from a letter I received from a Government agency?

If you keep it concise.

Yes. I received this letter from a particular agency, and I am just going to read out this one sentence: "We have reviewed your case and we regret to inform you that we are unable to accede to your request as the evidence supports the offence disclosed."

I do not mean to be too prescriptive but, for example, you could reword this and say, "We have reviewed the facts and we are sorry that we cannot agree to your request because there is not enough proof." This is an example. For many Singaporeans who receive Government communications, English may not always be their first language. So, I think my clarification is, would the Government consider implementing much more simplified communications in its letters and so on to Singaporeans, as a WOG effort.

Mr Speaker, I agree with Mr Leon Perera that we do need to simplify our communications and aim for clarity, wherever possible. We also do have to make sure that there is precision and accuracy in the statements. These are tensions that Government officers will require training and support, but I can assure Mr Perera we have the same intent.

And the same in Parliament as well.

3 Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for Transport (a) what are the distinctions between social carpooling and illegal carpooling as defined by the Ministry; and (b) what action will the Ministry take to stop the use of chat groups that facilitate illegal carpooling.

A shared journey involving friends or colleagues, where typically no payment is required, is considered a social carpooling trip.

However, if the carpooling is among strangers, that is, the passenger does not know the driver, then, in the interest of both drivers and passengers, this must be done via licensed carpooling operators, for example, by booking GrabHitch or RydePool services; or through other smaller operators. In such cases, operators are required to verify drivers' licences and enforce a maximum of two carpool journeys a day at cost recovery. Details of booked trips are also recorded by operators, which can be used to aid investigations in the event of an incident or a dispute. Illegal carpooling trips matched through other platforms, such as Telegram chatgroups, do not have such safeguards. We would urge members of the public to book their journeys only with carpooling operators.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has been taking enforcement action against drivers providing illegal carpooling services under section 101(1) of the Road Traffic Act, and will continue to monitor and conduct enforcement checks. Commuters who encounter such drivers can also file a report with LTA.

Mr Yip.

I thank the Senior Minister of State for her reply. I have two supplementary questions. Will social carpooling individuals be put in a difficult situation if LTA tightens regulations towards illegal carpooling and how effective is LTA's enforcement in differentiating between the two practices?

Second, as many carpooling groups can operate through chatgroups, such as Telegram, how does the Ministry of Transport (MOT) intend to leverage technology and work with the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) to monitor such groups?

I thank the Member for his supplementary questions. Firstly, as I have mentioned earlier, to ensure commuter safety, we have limited the matching of carpooling services with strangers to only be done via licensed carpooling operators or the smaller operators – that means business entities that are carpooling operators, because these operators maintain records of the drivers as well as the trips booked, in case of a dispute or an incident. In the past, we have had reports of disputes as well as assault cases arising from unregulated carpooling services.

But social carpooling arrangements – generally made between friends or colleagues, typically with no payment made – are permitted. LTA will only take enforcement actions against drivers who are found to have completed these carpooling trips with strangers for a fee that are matched through other channels besides the carpooling operators. And usually, this is taken either through public feedback or if LTA conducts enforcement operations that are targeted at these illegal carpooling activities. When we conduct operations, we need to get evidence that these completed trips are actually between strangers and are for a fee through a channel that is not through the carpooling operators, before we take action.

LTA will exercise reasonableness and will not intervene if they are purely social carpooling arrangements.

Basically, if the driver provides trips through these chatgroups, has a valid vocational licence and drives a public service vehicle, then, that is not illegal and it is allowed. It is only not allowed if the driver does not have a valid vocational licence and does not drive a private hire car; then, that would be illegal.

4 Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) in the last three years, how many criminal offences are reported to the Police arising from illegal carpooling, beyond the offence of offering an illegal hitch ride; (b) for these offences, what are the five common crimes; and (c) whether these crimes are under-reported given the illegal nature of unregulated carpooling.

Mr Speaker, Sir, the Police do not track whether a criminal offence is associated with, and/or committed within the context of illegal carpooling. As such, we are unable to comment if such crimes are under-reported.

5 Mr Ang Wei Neng asked the Minister for National Development as of January 2023 (a) how many HDB blocks that are above 30 years old have not been selected for the Home Improvement Programme (HIP); (b) how many HDB blocks that are below 30 years old have been selected for HIP; and (c) how is HDB prioritising older HDB blocks for HIP.

Mr Speaker, as at end January 2023, there are 527 blocks 30 years and above eligible for the Home Improvement Programme (HIP), but which are pending selection.

Out of the 4,449 blocks selected for HIP since the programme's inception in 2007, 102 blocks are below 30 years, as at 2023. Generally, these blocks have been selected for HIP as they form a contiguous parcel with blocks that are 30 years and above.

At the beginning of each Nomination Exercise to select blocks for the HIP, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) will inform Town Councils of the remaining precincts or blocks that are eligible and invite them to nominate a number of the eligible precincts and blocks, especially those that are aged 30 years and above, for HDB and the Ministry of National Development (MND)'s evaluation. In general, MND and HDB will accord priority to older flats, while ensuring that there is a good geographical spread of HIP projects across public housing estates.

Mr Ang Wei Neng.

I thank the Senior Minister of State for her reply. Can I ask whether the HIP progress has been slowed by COVID-19, and if so, are there any plans to ramp up so that more HIPs can be rolled out to more precincts and more residents can benefit from it?

Mr Speaker, in reply to Mr Ang, as with many other public sector construction projects, HIP did get affected by COVID-19-related delays. However, now with the projects that are being selected, we will do our best to expedite them. We also know that residents have been looking forward to them.

Mr Gerald Giam.

I thank the Senior Minister of State for her reply. I just want to find out what is the age of the oldest block that has yet to be selected for HIP and where is that block located, as far as constituency is concerned? And just now, the Senior Minister of State mentioned that one of the factors, besides age, is the geographical spread of the blocks. How does this factor into HDB's decision on choosing blocks based on geographical spread?

Mr Speaker, I do not have the specific answer to Mr Giam's first supplementary question.

As for how we look at geographical spread, this actually reflects, to a very large extent, the history of our HDB building programmes because in the past, we have been developing new towns and this results, for instance, in flats of a certain age being bunched in certain localities.

But we also know that, generally, once the flats get to a certain age, there will be reasons why residents would like to see a refresh, so we bear this in mind. There will be times when there are towns with more flats that are of a certain age, but we try to also provide a spread, so that more residents will be able to see a refresh going on in their estates.

The following question stood in the name of Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim –

6 To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) what are the considerations behind the siting of a sports stadium in a given housing estate; and (b) whether stadia equipped with running tracks are regarded as a standard amenity for every town.

Question No 6.

Culture, Community and Youth): Mr Speaker, the Sports Facilities Master Plan (SFMP) aims to give Singaporeans good access to high quality sport facilities for them to pursue an active lifestyle, stay healthy and build strong community bonds through sports.

The Master Plan comprises a range of sporting and recreational facilities that meet national, regional and local town needs. We provide for every Housing and Development Board (HDB) Town to have either a Town Sports Centre or Regional Sports Centre, and depending on population trends, may also be supplemented with a Town Play Field. Each of these facilities offer a broad range of sporting amenities to cater to a variety of different sporting and recreational interests.

In determining what specific facilities to put in the towns, SportSG takes into account a variety of considerations, such as the town population size, popularity of sports, utilisation rates, availability of space, proximity to other sport and recreational amenities, as well as feedback from residents.

7 Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan asked the Minister for Health in each of the past five years, what is the number of CPF account holders who at the point of death have monies left in their CPF MediSave accounts to the sum of (i) less than $1,000 (ii) between $1,000 and $10,000 (iii) between $10,000 and $20,000 (iv) between $20,000 and $30,000 (v) between $30,000 and $40,000 (vi) between $40,000 and $50,000 and (vii) between $50,000 and the MediSave account limit.

Mr Speaker, MediSave helps Singaporeans set aside part of their income over their working years, to save up for healthcare expenses in their old age. It is, therefore, more instructive to look at MediSave balances at the point of death for Singaporeans who lived till an advanced age.

For Singaporeans who passed away aged 85 or older, between 2017 and 2021, about two in 10 had $1,000 or less; five in 10 had between $1,000 and $10,000; about one in 10 had between $10,000 and $20,000, $20,000 and $30,000, and more than $30,000 left in their MediSave accounts, at the point of death respectively.

Mr Patrick Tay.

I thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the reply. I note that the data given is only for those above 85 years old, because there is quite a number who are below 85 at the point of death, the figures are not given.

I think the crux of the issue is that we do hear, anecdotally, many MediSave account holders who pass on with larger or quite significant amounts in their MediSave accounts. And therefore, this is an appeal for the Ministry of Health (MOH) to consider whether we can allow greater MediSave deductions, especially for those with chronic illnesses, rare diseases, as well as for exigencies, where they need to tap on the MediSave to pay, to prolong their life and make sure that they are adequately treated.

I thank the Member for raising this issue. I note the concern, but there was a Parliamentary Question that had been raised previously. And insofar as to those who are 65 years old and above, the amount left in their MediSave is also not that high. So, although we do see some with large amounts left, in general, we believe a larger number do not have excessively high amounts, of more than $10,000. That is one point.

The second thing is that we allow MediSave to be withdrawn in a lump sum for those who are terminally ill, up to a minimum balance of $5,000, under the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board's Reduced Life Expectancy Terminally Ill scheme. So, this is something that they could avail themselves to, if there are situations where there are members who have terminal illnesses.

And also, over the years, MOH has expanded MediSave, to allow for more flexibility for the elderly to use for their healthcare needs. For example, we have lowered the age for Flexi-MediSave from 65 to 60 in 2018, and we also increase the withdrawal limit from $200 to $300 per year in 2021, so that more can use Flexi-MediSave for outpatient treatments.

This is all the top of the MediSave 500/700 that was also enhanced for chronic treatments, specifically.

But I note the concerns and we will continue to review the use of MediSave to strike the balance between affordability and ensuring that Singaporeans have sufficient savings for healthcare needs in old age.

8 Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Government has conducted any studies to determine to what extent, when foreign worker quotas and access to Employment Pass or S Pass holders is tightened, will lead to firms hiring more Singaporeans, firms hiring Singaporeans at higher pay, firms hiring more Singaporeans at higher pay and business failures that lead to net job destruction over the following one year period; and (b) if not, whether the Government will consider studying this and make public the findings.

To ensure good employment outcomes for Singaporeans, it is important that our policies enable firms to access foreign workers who can complement the local workforce, so that firms can grow and can create more opportunities for locals.

To support policymaking, the Government regularly conducts impact assessment studies on a range of policies, and of course, this includes foreign workforce policies. The Government publishes some of these studies every quarter through the Economic Survey of Singapore.

One key finding of our internal studies on foreign workforce policies is that tightening access to lower-skilled foreign workers is more likely to have a positive impact on local employment outcomes, compared to tightening access to higher-skilled foreign workers. This is because businesses will then be able to substitute lower-skilled but cheaper foreign workers with locals, and therefore, improve their production processes accordingly. This has informed our approach of remaining open to high-quality, foreign professionals, while maintaining a disciplined stance in regulating the number of Work Permit holders through quotas and also levies.

It is important to note that these studies are but just one input to the policymaking process. These studies have their limitations, for example, they are unable to account for less quantifiable effects of having foreigners in our workforce, such as the knowledge spillovers to locals and other network effects.

The impact of the interventions studied might also change if they are applied beyond a certain scale or at a different time period. As such, they need to be interpreted carefully alongside other sources of information, including more recent labour market statistics, as well as industry feedback.

Mr Leon Perera.

I thank the Minister for that helpful reply. Just two supplementary questions. Firstly, just to make sure that I have the right understanding. The Minister was saying that, based on the impact studies that have been conducted in the past, for lower-skilled workers, when the supply of foreign manpower, when that tap is tightened, that tends to lead to better employment outcomes for Singaporeans at the lower end of the wage scale – I just wanted to clarify that. Because that is an interesting finding.

For the other observation that the Minister made about the studies that for more highly-skilled foreign professionals, that that correlation does not really apply so much as it does to the lower-skilled workers. Would the right conclusion to draw from that, be that, we, in Singapore, are not producing enough highly-skilled or qualified professionals to fill the job vacancies that the economy is creating?

I thank the Member for his supplementary questions. The first point, in terms of the studies' findings for low-skilled workers, is that up to a certain point, the studies have shown that, if you tighten at the lower-skilled segment, the net result is that we do get substitution and our locals can take on these jobs, but at slightly higher levels. To a point.

Because of the size of our population and the size of our workforce, up to a point, if you continue to tighten, it can actually have a worse-off effect for the development of our country, in terms of our economic progress, as well as industry development.

For the higher-skilled, again, you cannot infer from the studies that for higher-skilled workers, we are not doing enough to produce high calibre, local Singapore talent. We are already doing significantly more to improve their prospects, in terms of moving them, in terms of investing in their training, and in upskilling and upgrading. But again, because of the fact that there are all these accelerating changes, economies and industries are evolving very rapidly, and coupled with that, significant disruptions are happening.

So, to keep pace and to keep ahead pre-emptively, in terms of making sure that we are ahead of the competition, we not only need to develop our own local talent, we will also need foreign workers to come alongside with us and complement us as we move forward. I hope that answers the Member's question.

Order, end of question time. The Clerk will now proceed to read the Orders of the Day.

[Pursuant to Standing Order No 22(3), provided that Members had not asked for questions standing in their names to be postponed to a later Sitting day or withdrawn, written answers to questions not reached by the end of Question Time are reproduced in the Appendix.]

[(proc text) Order read for consideration in Committee of Supply [Allotted Day]. (proc text)]

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Supplementary Estimates of Expenditure for the financial year 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023, contained in Paper Cmd 21 of 2023. As there are no amendments, I propose to take the Heads of Expenditure en bloc. I will first take Heads B, E, G, J, P, Q, T, V, W, X and Z of the Supplementary Main Estimates.

[(proc text) Question, "That the sums stated for the Heads of Expenditure as shown on page 6 of Paper Cmd 21 of 2023 stand part of the Supplementary Main Estimates," put and agreed to. (proc text)]

I will now take the Supplementary Development Estimates. In respect of the Supplementary Development Estimates, they are Heads J, Q, S, V, W and X.

[(proc text) Question, "That the sums stated for the Heads of Expenditure as shown on page 9 of Paper Cmd 21 of 2023 stand part of the Supplementary Development Estimates," put and agreed to. (proc text)]

[(proc text) Question, "That the sum of $9,175,357,100 shall be supplied to the Government under the Heads of Expenditure for the public services shown in the Supplementary Main Estimates of Expenditure for the financial year 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023, contained in Paper Cmd 21 of 2023," put and agreed to. (proc text)]

[(proc text) Question, "That the sum of $5,211,667,500 shall be supplied to the Government under the Head of Expenditure for the public services shown in the Supplementary Development Estimates of Expenditure for the financial year 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023, contained in Paper Cmd 21 of 2023." (proc text)]

[(proc text) Resolutions to be reported. (proc text)]

Second Minister for Finance.

Mr Speaker, I beg to report that the Committee of Supply has come to certain resolutions.

[(proc text) First Resolution reported, (proc text)]

[(proc text) "That the sum of $9,175,357,100 shall be supplied to the Government under the Heads of Expenditure for the public services shown in the Supplementary Main Estimates of Expenditure for the financial year 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023, contained in Paper Cmd 21 of 2023." (proc text)]

[(proc text) Second Resolution reported, (proc text)]

[(proc text) "That the sum of $5,211,667,500 shall be supplied to the Government under the Head of Expenditure for the public services shown in the Supplementary Development Estimates of Expenditure for the financial year 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023, contained in Paper Cmd 21 of 2023." (proc text)]

Mr Speaker, I beg to move, "That Parliament doth agree with the Committee on the said resolutions."

[(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)]

[(proc text) Resolutions accordingly agreed to. (proc text)]

Before we proceed to read item two, I think Ms Low Yen Ling has a clarification for the Parliamentary Questions earlier.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I would like to make a clarification on my answer for Parliamentary Question No 1. [Please refer to "Data on Funds Utilised for Singapore Global Network Funding Programme", Official Report, 27 February 2023, Vol 95, Issue 87, Oral Answers to Questions section.]

I would like to clarify that the Singapore Global Network (SGN) was set up in June 2019, while the SGN Funding Programme was launched in August 2020.

We will now proceed with item two.

[(proc text) Order read for consideration in Committee of Supply [2nd Allotted Day]. (proc text)]

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

[(proc text) Head J (cont) – (proc text)]

[(proc text) Resumption of Debate on Question [24 February 2023], (proc text)]

[(proc text) "That the total sum to be allocated for Head J of the Estimates be reduced by $100". – [Mr Vikram Nair]. (proc text)]

[(proc text) Question again proposed. (proc text)]

Mr Desmond Choo.

Mr Chairman, can I take the two cuts together?

Yes, please.

In order to prepare our National Servicemen (NSmen) to effectively defend Singapore against evolving threats, our training facilities need to be consistently refreshed to make sure that they provide realistic and relevant battlefield environments.

Today, the battlefield may not necessarily be in a field or a jungle, but also in an urban environment. Back in 2019, the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) started construction on Singapore Armed Forces Training Institute (SAFTI) City, a state-of-the-art urban training facility that aims to leverage on technology to enhance training for our Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) soldiers.

However, due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, MINDEF announced that the development of the SAFTI City project had been delayed, similar to other construction projects throughout Singapore.

With Singapore having entered into an endemic COVID-19 phase and gone to Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON) Green, can MINDEF provide updates on the SAFTI City and the development of other military training facilities in Singapore?

Many Singaporean soldiers have had the privilege of participating in SAF training overseas. For these soldiers, this was one of the highlights of their training and service to the nation.

Overseas training is critical in bolstering our national defence. It allows us to overcome our natural space constraints and conduct important training that would have otherwise been impossible here. For our national servicemen, it is also an opportunity for them to appreciate the scale of the SAF's capabilities and operations. Such overseas training is critical to SAF building up capabilities beyond what the limited space of Singapore can provide.

One of the biggest overseas training areas we have is the Shoalwater Bay Training Area in Australia, which is currently undergoing an expansion. During the Minister for Defence's visit to the troops participating in Exercise Trident and Exercise Wallaby in Australia in September 2022, he stated that the expanded training area would eventually provide an area ten times the size of Singapore for our soldiers to train.

I would like to ask the Minister for a progress update on the SAF's training area development in Australia and how can these new facilities enhance our training for our national servicemen? When will our soldiers be able to utilise this training asset fully?

Chairman, Sir, multiple residents have given me feedback about the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) flying activities in Western Singapore, for example, "They fly so low we can even read the numbers and logos on the planes." "Makes it impossible to work from home or have conference calls." "They blast their engines at 6.20 am and 9 pm." "My young kids get startled by the noise and cry." "We have stayed in the area for over 20 years and have never experienced this intense frequency of noise."

One, we all understand that the RSAF must stay operationally ready, so it must train. Two, airspace in Singapore is tight and the RSAF must fly over residential areas en route to international air space. And three, some of the flying is, in fact, not training in nature, but operational responses to situations.

But can the RSAF review its flying parameters on timing, flying altitude, frequency, and most importantly, its flight path, say if there is a possibility to fly more over the lesser populated Lim Chu Kang area, to ensure a more sustainable balance, in the longer term, between operational readiness and a tolerable level of noise for residents in the West?

Chairman, Sir, vigorous training is key to an effective military. Consider combined arms warfare, a modern warfighting concept used by the best militaries, including Singapore. It involves the combination of infantry, artillery, armour, air support and naval forces. It requires high coordination and communication between the branches. Units must be able to work in concert with others, adapting to changing battlefields.

To acquire such sophisticated warfighting skills, our soldiers must train effectively to acquire individual or sub-unit skills. They must also participate in larger-scale trainings and exercises to build teamwork between units.

At the same time, the application of technology can improve the realism and effectiveness of training. These technologies include individualised or combined simulators for our air, land and sea assets. This also includes war-gaming software and specialised training facilities embedded with sensors and playback capabilities.

Can the Minister for Defence share how SAF is utilising the latest technology, combine with the right facilities and safety protocol, to prepare our soldiers for any contingencies?

The challenges we face in the information and cyber domains have grown far beyond any single country's ability to address. Not only have they grown in relevance, countries are also becoming more reliant on social media and digital technologies. Almost every aspect of our lives has an online presence, including for the purposes of accessing essential services, transactions and communication.

Losing access to the cyber and information domains would be extremely disruptive and is a challenge that transcends national boundaries. While the world has become more seamless, integrated and interconnected through digital means, it has led to a new wave of modern security challenges, increasing our exposure to cyberattacks, disinformation and misinformation. We have witnessed a significant increase in the volume, frequency and reach of disinformation and falsehoods, not just within, but also across societies. In order to combat these common challenges, deeper international and multilateral cooperation can be essential.

In light of this, could the Minister for Defence provide views on what Singapore can do to ensure that multilateral cooperation remains strong, to address the increasingly transnational nature of the digital threats that we face?

As we begin to step out from COVID-19, we are seeing the slow return of things to their normal pre-pandemic state. However, we have not been fortunate to witness a similar turning point in the regional security environment.

Instead, we see a hardening of tensions and an increasingly charged geopolitical environment, overlaid by deepening UNited States (US)-China strategic rivalry. Recently, the spy balloon saga has caused the rift between them, to further widen and divide the global community.

In last year's Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD), there was a comment by a representative of China's People's Liberation Army of his perception that the forum is dominated by the US and its allies.

Could the Minister for Defence provide an update on MINDEF's efforts to foster security dialogue in the region? How can Singapore position itself as the neutral platform for open and honest dialogue on regional security?

I am glad that the SAF has resumed its full-scale overseas training exercises in 2022, after two years of COVID-19 disruptions. These overseas exercises are essential to provide our SAF troops with realistic and effective training, given our land constraints. But this "return-to-normal" also makes training safety a paramount concern, especially where existing National Service (NS) commanders may not have the necessary experience from the last two years of lower-tempo training.

The large majority of our soldiers are full-time National Servicemen (NSFs) or Operationally-Ready NSmen (ORNS). We can all agree that in peacetime, we owe it to their parents and families to return them home after training – safe and sound. That is also my hope when my sons grow up and serve their NS in future.

Can MINDEF provide an update on how the SAF upholds safety in training, even as it seeks to conduct realistic and effective training?

Training safety is often seen to be at the expense of training realism and operational efficiency. Whether through its Inspector General's Office or the External Review Panels on SAF Safety, how has the SAF sought to innovate so that training safety is being pursued together with the aims of operational realism and effectiveness, and not simply enhancing safety measures at all costs?

Are MINDEF and SAF regularly engaging with foreign counterparts regarding approaches to training safety, and what are some of the useful lessons we have learnt or can learn from other militaries?

Mr Chairman, the safety of our service men and women is paramount. At last year's Committee of Supply (COS), Senior Minister of State Heng Chee How spoke about emphasising a strong safety culture in the SAF through audits and inspections.

What were the recent findings from such audits and inspections, including those conducted by the External Review Panel on Training Safety?

Mr Seah Kian Peng. Not here. Mr Patrick Tay.

NS is an important component of our nation's defence and the contributions and commitment of our NSmen are instrumental in ensuring peace, stability and security of Singapore.

However, Singapore's total fertility rate, which is already one of the lowest in the world, is declining. As a result, the number of full-time NSmen is projected to decrease. This further exacerbates the situation as our NSmen form the bulk of our defence force.

This statistic could be worrying for MINDEF and the SAF, as it poses a significant manpower and structural challenge to the SAF. We would eventually have to face the issue of maintaining an effective military force with a much leaner SAF.

With that in mind, how is MINDEF and SAF working to ensure that we optimise the development and deployment of our NSmen within the SAF, to tap on and maximise their skills, physical status, capabilities and contributions?

Chair, many in this House would agree that our people are our most important resource. Our rapidly ageing population and low fertility rate have a direct impact on SAF. Thus, we must ensure that our NSmen are deployed efficiently to tasks which they are able to carry out effectively and safely.

With the adoption of cutting-edge military technologies, there are now new tools that our NSmen can use in a wider range of vocations. It is, therefore, timely for us to reconsider whether there are now new opportunities for our NSmen to take on.

At the COS debate last year, Senior Minister of State for Defence Mr Heng Chee How shared with the House that the SAF had successfully implemented functional assessments for NSFs, with more NSmen safely deployed as transport operators. He also shared that functional assessments would also be extended to pre-enlistees with orthopaedic conditions.

Would MINDEF, therefore, provide an update on the implementation of these functional assessments?

Chairman, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused major disruptions to our economy and society. In particular, the education, training and opportunities for our young people had been impacted. Many lessons and training programmes were conducted online, and our youth were not able to harness the full benefits of in-person interactions and hands-on experience.

Technology is changing the way we live and work. Notwithstanding the global layoffs by major technology companies, digital skills – such as coding and data analytics – will continue to be crucial in the future of work.

It is important that our young NSmen are adequately prepared to meet the challenges of the new economy, even as they train to defend our nation.

In this regard, MINDEF's Work-Learn Scheme is well-placed to meet the aspirations of our people. Since it was introduced in 2018, MINDEF had expanded it to cover more roles and vocations. Last year, Senior Minister of State Mr Heng Chee How highlighted and updated that the SAF will introduce another two Work-Learn Schemes – the Digital Work-Learn Scheme for eligible servicemen to pursue undergraduate degrees in areas, such as Computer Engineering and Data Science, as well as the Work-Study Diploma for Supply Supervisors.

Can MINDEF provide an update on the expansion of the Work-Learn Scheme for NSFs to more roles and vocations?

Chairman, I am heartened by Minister's response to my Parliamentary Question on the subject matter for vocation and choice for our NSFs. The examples he shared ranges from air defence, artillery, intelligence, island defence signals and transport. This certainly makes the NS period more meaningful for Singaporeans who got their vocation choices, instead of dragging their soles to report back to camp during the duration of NS. I am speaking on this from my own personal experience in the past when I served my NS.

Can Minister enlighten if any NSFs have decided to pursue a career in MINDEF when they were posted to their choice vocation? What is the probability of NSFs having a career in combat as compared to non-combat related?

With regard to transport that was mentioned in his response, does this include engine technicians or the equivalent? What kind of career can the NSF look forward to, should they choose to be in engineering as compared to combat?

Finally, does MINDEF provides any Work-Study Diploma opportunity for NSF enlistees that come from Institutes of Technical Education (ITEs)? I believe that the sophisticated combat vehicles can entice young Singaporeans to take the opportunity to have hands-on experience in the engines of such vehicles.

Chairman, I was heartened to hear last year that the number of expertise-based redeployments had gone up significantly in 2022. Allowing NSmen to use their civilian expertise to contribute to national defence should provide for a more effective SAF and a better NS experience.

After serving their NS, many Singaporeans go on to fulfilling careers in various specialisations, some of which may be valuable to the SAF. We should consider how best to tap on their skillsets and specialisations, and enable them to make better use of their time during their ORNS.

Would MINDEF share an update on whether the number of expertise-based redeployments has gone up and in which areas are they contributing to?

Sir, the past three years of the COVID-19 pandemic have been trying for all of us, but we have also made significant technology-related gains during this period. Many Singaporeans now enjoy the flexibility of remote working and catching up with friends online has become more commonplace.

Many NSmen use their mobile phones connect to their family, to their friends and colleagues. And these phones also serve as their calendars, wallets, bus and MRT cards. I would say not just NSmen, but all of us as well.

But for many of our young NSmen, the digital life is the only life they have ever known. Given that our NSmen devote precious time to serve the nation, it is necessary for MINDEF to make the best use of technology to ensure that the NS' administrative processes are efficient and convenient. So, may I ask how is MINDEF leveraging technology to improve NS administrative processes – particularly to cater to the preferences of a young and digitally-savvy generation of NSmen?

Chairman, our NSmen make many sacrifices to defend our nation, while they juggle NS obligations with the other demands in their work and family lives. Ensuring an efficient and convenient NS Experience would be most helpful to them. I appreciate the OneNS initiative which seeks to achieve this goal by centralising NS transactions and services, such as SMART Information and Communications Technology (ICT) onto this one-stop platform.

I understand that OneNS can anticipate the needs of each individual serviceman and personalise digital services, so that each can have easy access to relevant information and services in a timely manner.

OneNS was rolled out in the second half of last year. Would MINDEF share the feedback and experience from its users and assess how much difference this platform has made to the NS experience?

Sir, since 1967, NS has been the cornerstone of our defence, as well as the rite of passage for Singaporean males, shaping them from "Ah Boys to Men". The NS experience not only consists of two years' full-time service but also regular reservist call-ups in the years that follow, to ensure that the NSmen's skills and knowledge remains relevant and current. It is also a whole-of-society endeavour because families and employers play a huge role to support our NSFs and NSmen whenever they are required to answer their call of duty. Most importantly, NS is about strengthening Singaporean's commitment and ability to defend and protect Singapore.

To mark the 55th anniversary of NS last year, MINDEF organised a series of activities to recognise the contributions of our NS past and present. The activities were designed to raise awareness of NS, promote fitness, and highlight the sacrifices and dedication of NSmen over the past 55 years. The NS55 celebrations also provided an opportunity for the nation to come together to show its support and gratitude to NSmen and their families.

Can MINDEF provide an update on how Singaporeans have responded to these activities and whether these activities had achieved its objectives?

Chairman, last year, we commemorated 55 years of NS. This was a meaningful opportunity to pay tribute to the contributions of our past and present NSmen. Their contributions and personal sacrifices have ensured the SAF has remained strong, and have kept Singapore safe and secure.

While NS55 activities have concluded, recognition and support for our NSmen should continue. Our Singaporean sons devote two full years of their time, away from their families and loved ones, for the defence of Singapore. They put their studies and career aspirations on hold and serve with passion and commitment. After full-time NS, our NSmen continue to make sacrifices juggling family, work and NS commitments.

I was, therefore, glad to hear that the NS Review Committee had prioritised recognition and support for our NSmen as one of the Committee's three thrusts. I appreciated that Senior Minister of State for Defence Mr Heng Chee How talked about NS recognition in his COS speech last year, including about the enhancement of the NS HOME awards.

What are MINDEF and the SAF doing to ensure that our NSmen continue to feel appreciated for their contributions to our national defence? How can MINDEF and the SAF better support our NSmen's families as well?

I would first like to thank our NSmen for being a key pillar of Singapore's national defence. It is important for us to ensure that NSmen and their families are supported and recognised for their sacrifices. We should not take these contributions for granted.

Today, NSmen have to balance their professional and personal lives alongside their NS commitments during their reservist years. Some of them even have to set aside life milestones.

Our growing freelance and self-employed workforce often face livelihood losses for each day that they are away from work and, hence, steps to alleviate unnecessary administrative processes will go a long way in helping with the balancing of their commitments. We should seek to continually improve the NS system, so that each and every NS man can have fulfilling and meaningful NS experiences. We should strive to increase conveniences for our NSmen by reducing administrative burdens for them where possible, without compromising on SAF's operational readiness.

One instance of this was in 2019 when Senior Minister of State Mr Heng Chee How announced that ORNS would no longer have to notify the authorities when they travel abroad for less than half a year. Could MINDEF provide an update on whether a review is timely this year, given that four years have passed since the last announcement?

Sir, it has been one year since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war. In the war's early days, the world watched with bated breath as the machinery of Russian warfare rolled into Ukraine. Would the Ukrainians be able to hold, and if so, for how long, how many days? Many feared that Ukraine faced overwhelming odds.

One year on, however, the Ukrainians have defied the strong odds against them. Soldiers have fought bravely and valiantly on the battlefield to preserve the sovereignty and territorial integrity of their homeland.

But we have to look beyond the traditional battlefield too. Indeed, the total attack nature of modern warfare today has expanded the realm of the traditional battlefield. Wars are no longer just conflicts between armies, but between nations and their peoples, and how to break their spirit and psychological unity.

On this count, the Ukrainian people have, too, fought bravely against the chaos, destruction and horrors of war. Instead of buckling under pressure, the Ukrainians came together and rose to the occasion. Tales of Ukrainians from all walks of life banding together have hit the headlines time and again, displaying inspiring acts of heroism, resourcefulness and ingenuity. From engineers building portable stoves out of old refrigerator parts to fend off the cold amid power outages, to housewives fashioning makeshift but effective tourniquets and weaving camouflage nets as covers for military vehicles and soldiers.

In light of these developments in Ukraine, could MINDEF share the key Total Defence takeaways from the Russia-Ukraine conflict for Singapore?

Singaporean actor Ix Shen, who was living in Ukraine, recounted how Ukrainians who lined up in a supermarket to stock up on necessities made way for soldiers and gave them words of encouragement.

Ms Rachel Ong. Take your two cuts, please.

Chairman, at the COS debate last year, Senior Minister of State for Defence, Mr Zaqy Mohamad shared that a "2021 Total Defence Review" was undertaken and had reflected sentiments of Singaporeans wanting space to contribute ideas and efforts towards shaping Singapore's Total Defence.

During the same debate, I also raised the question on how we can continue to engage our youth in defence matters. The Senior Minister of State then shared about the launch of the Total Defence Sandbox.

May I ask MINDEF for an update on the progress of the Total Defence Sandbox, as well as the follow-up on the suggestions and recommendations put forth by Singaporeans as part of the Total Defence Review. Also, the plans to ensure that Total Defence remains relatable and resonate with all Singaporeans?

An important goal of Total Defence is to build resilient communities; communities that are able to withstand, respond and bounce back quickly from adverse situations. This has never been more critical in this era of uncertainty; politically, economically and also in the form of natural disasters.

There are examples we can look to, which showcase the strength of a community banding together. As shared by some, the Ukrainian people have been a remarkable example of a people coming together to not only defend their country, but innovate in the face of great difficulty.

Tech professionals in Ukraine used their talents to aid the nation's efforts and support humanitarian needs amid the crisis, such as creating apps that notify users about bombings or supporting humanitarian needs. Civilians with tech know-how found creative ways to adapt commercially, and to build drones and materials for military use. Businesses like Headway, a Ukrainian start-up, continued operating from bomb shelters in the midst of air raids, successfully offering bite-sized learning on an app used by 15 million people in over 140 countries. Others continue to attend and showcase their new innovations at international trade shows.

In the words of a startup founder from Ukraine, Mr Nazar Trokhymchuk: "the militaries are fighting, Ukrainian business is working, start-ups are developing, so everyone is doing their job".

I imagine that any crisis that hits Singapore shores, from either traditional or emerging threats, would demand a similar type of collective resilience, in order for us to bounce back stronger after each crisis. Therefore, may I ask MINDEF for updates on how MINDEF has bolstered community resilience through various initiatives under the Total Defence umbrella.

Chairman, every Singaporean has a part to play in our whole-of-society effort to build a strong, secure and cohesive nation. New threats continuously emerge, while existing threats evolve and re-invent themselves. The addition of Digital Defence is timely, which forms the sixth pillar of Total Defence. How has MINDEF partnered the community to strengthen Total Defence?

Chairman, last year, the World Economic Forum recognised the contributions of one Ukrainian, Fedir Serdiuk, who had founded the First Aid Special Training, or FAST, organisation in 2016 to provide first aid training to ordinary Ukrainians. His organisation has reportedly trained more than 50,000 Ukrainians with the skills needed to render first aid, which has been particularly useful amidst the current hostilities.

I hope that Singaporeans continue to be inspired by such stories and that more Singaporeans are encouraged to learn about how they can prepare themselves to respond in the event of a national crisis.

How is MINDEF working with other agencies to enhance Singaporeans' civic preparedness? What are the measures planned to increase participation and the range of skills learnt by each participant?

Chairman, the global crises in the last two years served as important reminders that the people of Singapore need to be prepared to step up and respond in the event that we face crises. Let me cite three cases for illustration.

One, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has shown the importance of prepared and willing citizens who are able to not only respond to challenges such as food and energy shortages, but also resourceful enough to put lifesaving skills and other civil defence responses into practice, to save their own lives and that of other citizens.

Two, the COVID-19 pandemic, where not only our healthcare, border security and livelihoods were put to the test, but also the spread of misinformation and disinformation to make things worse.

Three, the recent massive earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, causing thousands dead and missing, and millions displaced.

Situations caused by geopolitical conflicts, health and natural disasters. Singapore has not and will not be spared from such disruptions to their lives. We are even more vulnerable because we are a small-nation state and have to punch above our weight to ensure we will not be defeated and will emerge stronger than ever. It is, hence, vital that we prepare Singaporeans adequately and in advance for emergencies – from having sufficient essential supplies for our people, to giving timely and correct information to together navigate through such crises.

What has MINDEF done, and will do, to better prepare Singaporeans for future crises? How will it muster the strong resources it has and collaborate and align with other Government Ministries, ground agencies and volunteers, to ensure that we can band together during tough times?

Mr Seah Kian Peng. Not here. Ms Joan Pereira.

Chairman, I am heartened to note that MINDEF and SAF continue to engage the community and key stakeholders to understand the challenges, constraints and opportunities faced by our people and businesses. Such engagements will go a long way to help boost the public support for defence and enable Singaporeans to better understand defence issues, so that they can play a more active role in building a resilient society.

Over the years, the Advisory Council on Community Relations in Defence (ACCORD) has provided an invaluable avenue for MINDEF and SAF to receive feedback and proposals. Last year, Senior Minister of State for Defence Mr Zaqy Mohamad provided an update on the various ACCORD initiatives, including ACCORD's focus on engaging youth and women on defence issues.

Would MINDEF provide an update on the various initiatives that ACCORD has been working on recently?

Chairman, our NSmen form the backbone of Singapore's defence and work tirelessly every day to ensure that they are always ready to respond to any current and future threat against Singapore.

Yet, the continued strength of our defence cannot be predicated on the individual soldier alone. For a NS man to carry out his duties effectively and with commitment, the support of his community and family is essential. Singaporeans from every part of our society must continue to also show appreciation for the hard work that they put in.

ACCORD plays an integral role, by reaching out to individuals from all walks of life, to strengthen their commitment to defence. ACCORD must continue its efforts to engage individuals, corporations and community groups, to mobilise support for defence issues, especially for NS.

Could MINDEF thus update the House on ACCORD's initiatives and how it has encouraged community support for defence issues, particularly, with regards to NS?

The Singapore Discovery Centre (SDC) is about who we are and what we want to be. I am glad that almost two decades on from its last major revamp, the SDC continues to keep Singapore's history alive for our children and grandchildren, and to be a place for interactive learning.

Over the past two years, Senior Minister of State for Defence, Mr Zaqy Mohamad, has updated the House about plans to refresh and transform the SDC. If we do an Internet search on SDC, it currently looks like a tourist attraction, but surely, it must be more than a tourist site.

May I ask MINDEF, what can visitors expect at the SDC today? How can we use the centre to help our children learn more about our history, and also about our future?

Mr Chairman, a shared sense of belonging is key to a country's identity. Central to this is a collective understanding and appreciation that citizens have of our country's history.

We recently celebrated Total Defence Day on 15 February. For many young Singaporeans, it might have seemed like just any other day, except for the public warning siren that was played on that day. In case we forget, Total Defence Day is commemorated on the day that Singapore fell during World War II. It is a day to remind ourselves of the lessons from that dark chapter of Singapore's history – that the responsibility to defend our nation lies with all of us.

It is, therefore, crucial that lessons from such key historical moments are passed down to future generations of Singaporeans, who will naturally feel increasingly distanced from long ago events that have shaped our nation. To this end, museums are a good medium.

When my children were younger, I used to bring them to places, such as the Battlebox and the Army Museum, to help them relate to what it was like living at a time where safety could not be taken for granted. I would like to ask if the Ministry tracks the visitorship of our various military museums and whether younger Singaporeans have been visiting them? Are there any upcoming plans to revamp these military museums to enhance their appeal to our younger generation?

Senior Minister of State Heng Chee How.

Mr Chairman, Minister for Defence, Dr Ng, said in his speech, that defence is a long-term business requiring consistent investment over time. Aside from building a capable armed forces that can serve as a deterrence and defend us against threats, MINDEF works hard on defence diplomacy and cooperation – both bilateral and multilateral - to build defence ties and address common security challenges.

Mr Shawn Huang and Mr Zhulkarnain asked about this. Let me cite two examples. As Dr Ng had updated the House last year, the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) had agreed to establish the ADMM Cybersecurity and Information Centre of Excellence (ACICE) in Singapore. This Centre promotes research and information sharing among partner nations on emerging cybersecurity and informational threats. ACICE has started sharing products with all partner nations. The construction of ACICE's physical centre is also underway and we expect a formal launch in the third quarter of this year.

The second example is that of the Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD). After a two-year hiatus, the SLD resumed last year in a physical format. SLD22 was a successful event that was well-attended by 37 ministerial-level delegates, including from both the US and China. The SLD remains the premier defence and security conference in Asia and provides a venue to affirm mutually beneficial principles and to allow for dialogue, if not build trust. We look forward to commemorating the 20th edition of the SLD this year, where Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has agreed to give the keynote address.

Beyond investing in a strong SAF and defence diplomacy, we have continuously invested in and evolved the NS system. NS is the cornerstone of our defence and national security. NSmen form the bulk of the SAF, the Police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF). Their sacrifices and commitment lay the foundation for Singapore's security and prosperity. It is critical that we continuously maintain and strengthen the NS system.

Here, I am happy to inform the House that public support for NS remains very strong. In one of MINDEF's surveys conducted among Singaporeans late last year, more than 98% of the respondents said that NS was necessary for Singapore's security, both now and in the future. It shows that Singaporeans understand that small states are inherently vulnerable, that we need to take responsibility for our own defence and that NS remains, I would say more than relevant – it remains critical.

This outcome does not come by chance. MINDEF and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) make regular efforts to strengthen the NS system and recognise the contributions of our national servicemen. Last year, the NS Review Committee (NSRC) submitted recommendations to ensure that NS remained effective amidst Singapore's evolving defence needs, as well as the changing needs of our NSmen. We also commemorated 55 years of NS (NS55). Today, I will provide an update on these efforts.

To recap, the NSRC's recommendations can be grouped into three broad thrusts. First, maximising the contributions of servicemen. Second, improving the NS experience. And third, enhancing recognition and support. With your permission, Mr Chairman, may I ask the Clerks to distribute a handout on the NSRC initiatives, which Members may refer to.

Please do. [A handout was distributed to hon Members. Please refer to Annex 1.]

Members may also access the handout through the MP@SGPARL mobile app.

Mr Patrick Tay asked about MINDEF's efforts to optimise the deployment of NSmen to maximise their contributions.

Given low fertility rates and shrinking cohort sizes, the SAF needs to optimise the contributions of every soldier – in two ways. The first concerns medical fitness and job requirements. To complement our existing medical screening process, we introduced functional assessments for pre-enlistees with selected orthopaedic conditions. Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked for an update on this.

Under this functional assessment, we assess the pre-enlistee's ability to do physical tasks, such as running, jumping and carrying heavy loads. This approach allows us to accurately match more servicemen to operational roles as compared to the traditional approach of matching servicemen based only on their medical diagnosis.

To date, 100 pre-enlistees with certain orthopaedic conditions have undergone such functional assessments and 75 have been found to be fit to be deployed to a wider range of operational roles than before. At the same time, we are leveraging technology to redesign jobs. Similarly, this enables more servicemen to be deployed into operational roles.

Since 2021, the SAF has redesigned 1,300 jobs in vocations, such as Medics, Infantry Carrier Vehicle Operators and Transport Operators, opening them up to more servicemen. The SAF is on track to do the same for another 500 jobs by the middle of this year, and that will bring it from 1,300, to 1,800 jobs.

The second way is to maximise contributions that concern knowledge and skills. To keep up with the changing nature of conflict and emerging threats, the SAF needs to grow and tap the skills of our NSmen. In this, we have made good progress.

I have updated the House in recent years about Work-Learn Schemes for NSFs, a subject which Mr Don Wee asked about. Mr Abdul Samad also asked about career pathways in the SAF related to engineering.

Under the Work-Learn Schemes, NSFs attain a diploma or partial university credits from Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) while performing a period of full-time NS followed by regular service. They are trained in domains, such as artificial intelligence, supply chain management and engineering, which allows them to be deployed as digital specialists, supply supervisors and technicians respectively.

Two months ago, we also introduced a new scheme for NSFs to pursue Diplomas in Engineering (Mechanical Technology) and be deployed as Naval Warfare System Specialists.

Overall, 450 NSFs have enrolled in such Work-Learn Schemes so far. By 2025, we expect 500 NSFs to be enrolled in Work-Learn Schemes every year.

Our efforts to maximise expertise cover not only NSFs, but also NSmen.

Some of our NSmen have skills that the SAF needs, which they have acquired in their civilian careers. The SAF has stepped up efforts to identify and redeploy these NSmen to make better use of their civilian expertise and skills.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked for an update on the results. The results have been encouraging.

Over the past year, the SAF has redeployed 200 NSmen under the Enhanced Expertise Deployment Scheme. This represents a four-fold increase from the average number of 50 NSmen a year between 2014 and 2021. New areas to which NSmen were redeployed last year included digital and intelligence, logistics and engineering.

While optimising deployment is important, we also need to make NS processes more seamless, so that our national servicemen can focus on their training. Mr Lim Biow Chuan and Ms Yeo Wan Ling asked about this.

This brings me to the second thrust of the NSRC's recommendations – that of improving the NS experience.

A major administrative burden for employers and NSmen had been the filing of Make-Up Pay claims for In-Camp Training (ICT). In the past, this was done manually. Entries were, therefore, sometimes incomplete and payment delays happened.

In September last year, we introduced an automated system that draws income-related information from the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board and Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) to calculate Make-Up Pay amounts. If they so wish, employers and NSmen can review the computed amounts and file for adjustments. Otherwise, the amounts will be paid out automatically and there is no action needed on their part.

As a result, we have had very positive feedback. The claim amounts derived from CPF Board and IRAS data have proven to be up to date and accurate. Since September, 92% of claims have been processed automatically. Based on our estimates, the automated system will save employers, NSmen, MINDEF and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) more than 260,000 man-hours of processing effort every year.

Apart from saving time, the automation has also allowed us to make payment much faster. Since September, 90% of claims have been paid within 10 days from the start of in-camp training (ICT). Practically, the payment is processed while people may still be undergoing their period of ICT.

Alongside this automated system, we also introduced a base NS pay of $1,600 per month whenever NSmen attend ICT or other ORNS activities. This means that if the data from CPF Board or IRAS indicates that an NSman earns less than $1,600 per month, MINDEF will top up his NS Pay to $1,600 per month, prorated according to the duration of the ORNS activity. As an example, if an NSman attends a 12-day ICT, on a prorated basis of a base pay of $1,600, he would be paid at least $600.

This provides additional support to NSmen who are students or who are not employed or whose income from informal jobs may not be fully captured in CPF or IRAS data. We hope that this gives NSmen from lower-income segments greater financial security when they attend ORNS activities.

On this, I just want to reiterate the point that MINDEF is fully committed to the well-being and welfare of both our NSFs and NSmen. Through so many examples that we have given, the public can be confident that we will regularly update such benefits, in order to take good care of our servicemen.

Our efforts to digitalise NS transactions and touchpoints go beyond Make-Up Pay claims.

Members who are NSmen would remember receiving physical vouchers from MINDEF and MHA in the past as part of our recognition efforts. Since 2021, we have replaced cash and voucher-based NS recognition benefits with digital credits disbursed through the LifeSG mobile app.

With the change, national servicemen are now able to receive, carry and redeem their credits via their mobile devices. The credits can be used with any business that accepts payment by NETS or PayNow QR. Some businesses also offer our servicemen discounts for the use of the credits as a show of support for NS. When they do so, this has effectively further raised the dollar value of the benefits.

As part of the NS55 Recognition Package, $100 worth of credits were distributed electronically in July last year to more than a million NSmen past and present. When we checked in mid-February 2023, the 136,000 NSmen who had rated the NS55 redemption eService on LifeSG app had given it an average of 4.8 out of five stars.

Over the past seven months, 76% of NSmen have started using or have already used their credits fully. This is a relevant piece of data because it shows that when it is made available to be used electronically, it makes it much more convenient and it speeds up the utilisation and the enjoyment of the benefit. In comparison, it took 18 months to achieve the same use for physical vouchers when we did that for NS50. I encourage all national servicemen to fully utilise your credits.

Ms Poh Li San asked about the use of the OneNS platform to improve the NS experience. The OneNS platform is a consolidation of NS-related services and transactions into a single mobile app. We rolled out the first phase of OneNS to selected ICT units. NSmen in these units can register their attendance at ICT easily with the geolocation function on the app. This has allowed the units concerned to start the proper ICT programme earlier. OneNS will be extended to more units in the coming months.

I now move on to the third thrust, which is that of enhancing recognition and support for NSmen, something which Mr Chong Kee Hiong asked about.

Last year, we conducted a year-long NS55 campaign themed "Generations of Strength". Mr Mohd Fahmi asked about the response to that campaign. Besides giving the NS55 Recognition Package to eligible NSmen, MINDEF and MHA organised a series of commemorative initiatives that was well received.

As an example, the NS55 theme song "Back in the Day" accumulated over six million views online. The showcase at the Army Open House on the evolution of NS attracted 140,000 visitors. The community came together to organise activities such as walking alongside our NSmen under the NS55 Fitness Challenge.

All in all, the NS55 campaign achieved its objectives. Surveys conducted after the campaign showed that 80% of our NSmen felt valued for their contributions to NS. And 90% of the general public felt that NS was a source of pride for Singapore.

NS55 may have concluded but our efforts to recognise and support our NSmen and their families continue. In fact, we can already look forward to the opening of the new Singapore Armed Forces Reservist Association (SAFRA) clubhouse in Choa Chu Kang in May this year. That will bring an exciting host of amenities, especially to the 90,000 NSmen who reside in the northwest. I think many of us might have seen the exciting photos of my colleague, Senior Minister of State Zaqy's recent hard-hat tour of the upcoming facilities. So, look out for that.

Beyond recognition benefits, MINDEF and MHA are also committed to strengthening financial protection for SAF and Home Team servicemen and volunteers. In January, we doubled the coverage for the Group Term Life and Group Personal Accident insurance, up from $150,000 to $300,000. We have also extended the coverage to conditions, such as long-term hearing damage and decompression sickness. It is, therefore, fitting that the Group Personal Accident insurance is now called Group Personal Injury insurance – to reflect that extended coverage.

I have covered the three thrusts of the NSRC but these are not our only priorities.

The SAF will always pay particular attention to safe and effective training of our NSmen. Mr Desmond Choo and Mr Henry Kwek had asked about this.

We are investing heavily in our training infrastructure. Minister for Defence Dr Ng had spoken about how SAFTI City will allow our NSmen to undergo realistic training for a wide range of scenarios as well as the SAF's plans to leverage technology, including simulators and real-time sensors, to enhance training. The development of expanded overseas training areas, including those in Australia, will also allow our NSmen to have more opportunities to participate in large-scale, integrated training.

While training must be realistic to be effective, we will never compromise on safety. Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked about how the SAF balances safety and training effectiveness.

Sharing of safety practices and co-development of safety management plans have always been an important part of training exercises that SAF conducts, both for itself as well as with other military forces.

Representatives from the SAF also attend international defence safety conferences, in order to share experiences and also to gain insights on safety benchmarks and practices. These are then put into reviews and revisions of safety standards to further enhance them where appropriate.

The 3rd ERPSS, which began its three-year term in 2021, noted that the SAF had comprehensive systems to ensure the safety and health of our soldiers during training. This assessment was made after the Panel visited key SAF training schools and an overseas training exercise over the past two years.

Miss Cheng Li Hui asked about audit findings and learning points. The SAF Inspector-General's Office recently completed its second audit cycle across all SAF formations. The audit findings show that the SAF's safety management systems remain robust despite the ramp-up of training over the past year following pandemic-related disruptions.

I announced last year that the SAF was developing an Enterprise Safety Information System (ESIS). It has been fully adopted in the SAF, allowing quick spreading of safety lessons and easy submission of near misses and incidents by personnel across all ranks. The system enhances commanders' awareness and decision-making, in order to better prevent accidents. The SAF will continue to invest resources and harness technology to strengthen our safety culture.

This concludes my update on the implementation of initiatives in our priority areas. Work in these areas will never end and we will continue to look for new ways to strengthen the NS system and recognise our NSmen.

With that, I am now pleased to make two announcements.

First, in an effort to improve NS processes further, we have reviewed exit controls for NSmen and concluded that we are able to further relax them. From April this year onwards, NSmen will only need to apply for an Exit Permit when they leave Singapore for 12 months or more, up from the current six months or more. This change reflects the growing mobility of Singaporeans, with many of our NSmen staying or working overseas for longer durations.

Let me assure Members that we have studied this very carefully and the SAF's operational readiness will not be affected as a result of this change.

Second, in appreciation of the contributions of our national servicemen, the National Service Resort and Country Club (NSRCC) will be building a social and recreation hub that will come with chalets, sports facilities and other family-centric amenities. More details will be announced in due course. We hope that this effort – to build this hub and enhance our services to NSmen – will cater even better to the leisure needs of a younger generation of NSmen.

Mr Chairman, we need an effective NS in order to safeguard our security and our sovereignty. We must build on the contributions of previous generations, take care of our NSmen and ensure that NS is well-positioned to safeguard our way of life into the future.

Minister of State Zaqy Mohamad.

Mr Chairman, Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen and Senior Minister of State Mr Heng Chee How spoke at some length about the importance of investing steadily in a strong defence.

They stressed the importance of long-term investments in building up our military capabilities and strengthening our NS system, even during times of relative peace. I would add that we also need steady investment in Singaporeans' commitment to defence and our collective national resilience. This underpins our Total Defence philosophy that we started in 1984.

Total Defence has helped us through crises in the past and the most recent COVID-19 pandemic. It is even more needed now to prepare all Singaporeans to withstand ongoing disruptions, to defend against the multitude of threats that lie ahead and for us to continue to thrive.

Looking back on the past year's challenges, the Russia-Ukraine war resonates with me because it shows precisely why Total Defence remains critical for Singapore's survival.

The world has been awed by the sheer courage and ingenuity of Ukrainians in their spirited fight against Russia. Member of Parliament Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim and Ms Denise Phua, as well as others highlighted this. And I think there is much we can learn from how the whole-of-Ukrainian society mobilised for its national defence.

In an inspiring display of Civil and Psychological Defence, many Ukrainian individuals and businesses have volunteered their civilian support for the military effort.

In the same month that Russia launched its full-scale invasion, a historian began making improvised bulletproof vests for soldiers, by taping sawed-off pieces of ploughshares and cut-up transmission belts from farming machines onto sleeveless dress jackets. Then, local business owners, specialising in everything from furniture to metalwork, came together to properly manufacture bullet-proof jackets sewn with camouflage fabric and tool pouches. Bullet-proof jackets are common apparel in Ukraine now. There are reports of farmers wearing them while working fields that are peppered with unexploded munitions, and parents preparing them for children in the event of evacuations.

We also see the interplay between Military, Civil and Digital Defence in how Ukrainians have applied their computer and information technology expertise to help counter Russia's aerial attacks.

To overcome limitations in their air defence system, Ukrainian volunteers worked with military and government officials to develop a mobile phone application that allows civilians to report sightings of incoming drones and missiles. Users only needed to point their device in the direction of the incoming object and press a button, and the application would send a report to the military, who would attempt to intercept the object before it struck.

Demonstrating their social and psychological resilience, millions of Ukrainians have returned home since the war began, despite there being no clear resolution to the conflict in sight. Some are men who worked overseas and wanted to enlist to defend their country. Others are seniors, women and children who wanted to rebuild their homes and their communities.

Their display of Social and Psychological Defence prompts me to reflect on the strength of our national identity and resilience. I hope that we never have to come to this. But should crisis arise and the country need us, Singaporeans must stand united and stay to defend our country. One people, one nation, one Singapore.

Over the past two years, we have been engaging different groups of Singaporeans to strengthen Total Defence. Member Miss Rachel Ong asked about how MINDEF has followed up on our 2021 Total Defence Review.

Through our review, we have identified two key priorities. The first is to help Singaporeans become more aware about the threats and challenges for our society, which would serve as a stepping-stone towards understanding how they can contribute to tackling these challenges. The second is to give Singaporeans more opportunities to propose Total Defence initiatives and to partner the government to implement these initiatives.

In this spirit, we launched the Total Defence Sandbox last year, to crowdsource proposals from youths to put Total Defence into action.

In the first round of submissions, we received 77 enthusiastic proposals, and have selected some proposals to implement this year. For example, university students Mr Caleb Tan and Mr Sheng Jiankai drew on their love of crime fiction to propose an immersive Total Defence Murder Mystery Role Play Game to help players learn about our multifaceted threat environment. Mr Tan said that through their game, they hoped that young Singaporeans would become more aware of the challenges and limitations that Singapore faces, and feel the urgency to take tangible actions for Total Defence. We think that their idea is fresh and engaging, and have partnered them with the SDC to bring their game to life.

We are looking for more creative contributions from Singaporeans. Our second call for proposals to the Sandbox has just commenced and will run until May of this year.

Chairman, we want to deter crises and conflict. However, when crisis hits, we must be prepared. The Government will spare no effort in our response, but the Government also cannot be everywhere all the time. This is where Singaporeans, all of us, must play our part to pitch in to support national efforts, as well as to take care of each other.

Members Miss Rachel Ong, Miss Cheng Li Hui, Mr Chong Kee Hiong and Ms Denise Phua asked how MINDEF was partnering other agencies and the community to bolster community resilience and civic preparedness.

Through the Total Defence Sandbox, a group of Singapore Management University (SMU) students proposed to conduct a table-top simulation to engage post-secondary students on Total Defence.

We saw the potential of this idea and brought together Government agencies, grassroots organisations, education institutions and businesses to develop a full-fledged Community Exercise involving over 120 participants, as part of the 2023 Total Defence Day Commemoration Event. The exercise was conducted over two days in Chua Chu Kang Community Club, where members of the local community came together to draw up plans to prepare for and respond to disruptions of essential supplies.

Visitors to the Total Defence Day Commemoration Event also learned about facilities and skills that are essential for civic preparedness. To show people that they can still prepare good food in the event of a shortage of fresh food, the ITE College West served nutritious meals that were cooked using ingredients with long shelf lives.

In preparation for water-related emergencies, the Public Utilities Board (PUB) had booths to educate the public on water conservation and flood resilience. Residents were invited to try out PUB's mobile Water Bag Filling Machine, which can pack five-litre water bags for distribution in the event of water supply disruptions. So, this is a lot faster and quicker than what we used to remember – pail carrying and long queues.

Some activities took place in the Civil Defence Shelter in the Community Centre, which is part of a longstanding shelter programme by the SCDF to protect civilians during natural and man-made disasters, as well as wartime emergencies. The SCDF also conducted public demonstrations of critical life-saving skills, such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and fire extinguishing.

I am pretty inspired by how an idea that started in the Total Defence Sandbox evolved into a comprehensive and inclusive community effort with the close support of partners.

Every Singaporean can build up their crisis preparedness by getting certified with life-saving skills and learning how they should prepare for and respond in emergencies. We hope to encourage more people to undertake these actions, and we are working with the People's Association and ITE College West to conduct the exercise with Singaporeans from more walks of life.

We are also exploring new and more engaging ways to encourage youths to learn about Total Defence. One way is through the Total Defence Interactive Videos, which are available on the MINDEF and SG101 websites.

The latest video, launched just last month, follows a friendly and comical grandmother and grandson duo as they try to tackle modern challenges such as supply disruptions and fake news. Viewers role-play as the video characters and make decisions that determine how the story unfolds. Through the videos, we hope that viewers reflect on how their individual choices can create a greater impact in the national context.

School activities also provide valuable platforms for youths to learn about defence and security issues. For example, most of us are familiar with the National Cadet Corps (NCC). Some of us may have been part of the NCC when we were in school. I, for one, was an NCC cadet too, at one point. Like many students over the years, this gave me early exposure to Total Defence and prepared me with relevant skills for NS. For some, NCC also seeded aspirations for a career in the military.

Today, we continue this tradition of actively engaging students and are piloting a new programme to empower youths to act in Singapore's Digital Defence.

Our fourth service, the Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS), launched the Sentinel Programme last year to equip youths with digital and cybersecurity skills. Students from participating secondary schools, junior colleges and polytechnics were offered hands-on workshops, engagement sessions and competitions. The programme was carefully crafted to expose students to foundational skills, such as basic programming, cryptography and network forensics.

We received strong student interest in the pilot programme, and are working with other agencies, such as the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA), to offer the programme to students from all secondary schools, junior colleges, polytechnics and ITEs in the coming years.

NS is fundamental to our Military Defence, as outlined by Senior Minister of State Heng Chee How. In turn, community support is critical for the continued success of NS. We established the ACCORD in 1984 to bring together community nodes that represent employers, educational institutions, family members and members of the wider community.

ACCORD has grown tremendously and continues to contribute valuable feedback and proposals. Members Ms Joan Pereira and Dr Wan Rizal asked for updates on ACCORD's initiatives, such as efforts to increase community support for NS.

In the past year, ACCORD actively rallied the community to show appreciation for our NSmen through the We Support NS Campaign. The campaign garnered discounts and benefits for NSmen at 275 retailers that operate a total of 2,500 outlets across Singapore.

In addition, ACCORD remains passionate about preparing youths and their families for NS. ACCORD co-organised NS engagement sessions for over 11,000 students from post-secondary education institutions in the past year and most agreed that the sessions helped them better prepare for NS.

We also wanted to give women a glimpse of what NSmen go through, so that they can better support and advocate for NS and Total Defence. With this in mind, ACCORD partnered with the SAF to host another edition of the Women's Boot Camp earlier this month.

Ms Koh Wee Min is an alumni of the 2019 Women's Boot Camp who returned to the most recent Boot Camp to support the camp trainers and share her experience. Ms Koh also initiated an NS55 project last year to plot the participating merchant outlets that offered We Support NS deals on a shared Google Map list. This allowed NSmen and their families to easily search for the deals. I think that she embodies the Total Defence spirit of playing your part, wherever you can.

We all have memories of what it means to play our own part for Singapore's defence. It may be something small, like taking pride in your Uniformed Group school unit achieving a Total Defence Gold Badge. Or maybe something more life-changing, like digging your first shell-scrape in the humid jungle or hearing the buzz of mosquitoes as you are doing your doing your sentry duties or sending your loved one off to Pulau Tekong for Basic Military Training (BMT). These memories of our achievements and sacrifices are precious threads in the hard-won tapestry of our national identity.

We believe in preserving these stories and artefacts across generations, so that we can learn about and reflect on the trials and tribulations that we have undergone as a fledgling nation and military. Members Mr Lim Biow Chuan and Mr Melvin Yong asked about the plans for our defence and military museums, and what visitors can expect. To bring our Singapore defence story to life and better preserve our heritage, we have set up the Defence Collective Singapore to oversee all our defence and military museums. This will help us deliver the best possible visitor experiences and national education programmes at our museums.

We have been refreshing our museums to ensure that the exhibition content is up to date, and that the visitor experience is interactive and educational.

The SDC completed a refresh a year ago, with new multisensory and digitally-enhanced exhibits on Singapore's past, present and future. Echoing the Singapore Green Plan 2030 and MINDEF's commitment to environmental sustainability, SDC is on track to achieve its ambitious sustainability target of becoming a net-zero energy building by this year.

The Navy Museum is undergoing a complete makeover of its galleries and will reopen to the public in the middle of the year. Spanning three floors, the refreshed museum uses multimedia and interactive exhibits to tell the story of the Navy's evolution from its humble beginnings to the professional, competent maritime force that it is today. It will also display real equipment from the Challenger-class submarines for the first time.

The NS Gallery at Marina Bay is being built within the new NS Square complex and remains on track to open by 2027.

Our NSmen have defended our land, airspace and seas over the decades, and we want to showcase Singapore's NS story and honour the contributions of our NSmen past and present. We will also progressively refresh the Army and Air Force Museums in the coming years. Collectively, visitorship numbers at our museums have been encouraging with over 400,000 visitors annually spanning our military museums and the SDC.

Mr Chairman, as its name suggests, Total Defence remains an all-encompassing, unceasing effort to strengthen ourselves, our communities and our nation. MINDEF will continue to invest in Total Defence, in partnership with fellow Singaporeans.

Total Defence is our best preparation for our best response to, and our best recovery from, the threats of today and tomorrow. We will withstand whatever comes that our way if every Singaporean steps up to play a part in our defence. [Applause.]

Clarifications, please.

Really? No clarifications? Mr Vikram Nair, would you like to withdraw your amendment? You have got lots of time, so you can go on.

Thank you. I would like to thank Minister and Senior Ministers of State for sharing the plans for MINDEF. It looks like the House is supportive and it is being passed without clarification. So, I seek leave to withdraw my amendment.

[(proc text) Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. (proc text)]

[(proc text) The sum of $17,128,091,700 for Head J ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. (proc text)]

[(proc text) The sum of$1,451,310,000 for Head J ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. (proc text)]

Chairman, I beg to move, "That the total sum allocated for Head N of the Estimates be reduced by $100."

A key source of geopolitical uncertainty is the growing United States (US)-China rivalry. The hope for many of us is that both the US and China find a way to co-exist together. As the two largest economic powers, their peaceful co-existence could allow Asia and the rest of the world to continue to prosper in peace.

Unfortunately, this rivalry seems to have grown and intensified over the years. Last year, US Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in the face of objections and threats of dire consequences from China. The message she wanted to send as clear – that the US stands firmly behind its ally, Taiwan. China responded with joint military exercises in the Taiwan straits and unprecedented missile overflights over Taiwan. While this rivalry had started out as a largely economic one, the risk of a military confrontation has suddenly also become more real.

The economic rivalry itself should not be underestimated. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, there was a wave of US investment into China and trade from China with the world blossomed. This was like a golden age for economic prosperity following the end of the Cold War.

The last few years though have marked a sharp reversal of this trend. As the rivalry between China and the US intensified, US companies have started leaving China. Amazon, Yahoo and Linked In are the latest companies to announce exits from China, following Google which exited more than a decade ago. Prior to this, other well-known names such as Macy’s, Home Depot, eBay and Best Buy have entered and exited China.

The Chinese company Huawei was hit with restrictions in 2019 and China followed with its own restrictions on various US sectors. Individuals have also not been spared. Following US sanctions on Hong Kong lawmakers in the wake of the unrest there, China had responded with sanctions on US lawmakers too, including members of President Trump’s administration and lawmakers, such as Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz.

This rivalry has also manifested itself in the realm of critical technologies. For example, the US last year imposed restrictions on the sales of advanced semiconductor chips, especially those with wide applications in artificial intelligence (AI) to China. While these measures are not targeted at Singapore, our semiconductor industry could potentially be impacted, given the highly complex nature of semi-conductor supply chains. In a more general dial-back of trade liberalisation, the last few years have seen both countries announce trade restrictions and sanctions against entities and individuals on both sides.

We can expect more intense and vigorous competition between both powers in the years ahead. What are the key risks and challenges for Singapore and the region arising from intensifying US-China competition?

[(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)]

US-China relations are vital for regional peace and prosperity. Singapore has always welcome both countries' efforts to keep communication channels open and engaged in dialogues.

While the US and China are not actively looking for conflict, the nationalistic rhetoric on both sides means that there is a real danger that any miscalculation or accident could potentially lead to an escalatory spiral and destabilise our region.

The recent balloon incidents seem to suggest that the space or window of opportunity is closing again. This is worrying.

While we are a small nation, we can still play our part. How has Singapore engaged both the US and China on their strategic rivalry? What is the prognosis and are there opportunities for Singapore?

Chairman, the Prime Minister’s National Day Rally last year outlined perhaps the most pessimistic assessment of US-China relations in recent memory. The Prime Minister was bleak and direct. US-China relations, which set the tone for global affairs, are worsening. Neither side expect relations to improve anytime soon and there is a risk of things worsening quickly.

The Prime Minister noted that more geopolitical contestation was likely in the Asia Pacific and that some countries would choose a side. This assessment was a marked difference in tone compared to the Prime Minister’s speech on US-China relations at the 2019 International Institute for Strategic Studies keynote address and the Prime Minister’s essay on US-China relations in Foreign Affairs magazine in 2020.

In the aftermath of the recent shoot-down of a Chinese balloon over the US, there were reports of the visit of a senior Pentagon official to Taiwan. Taiwan is likely to be a focus of contention in US-China relations. How does the Ministry assess the Taiwan question? Is it a red line and will it force Singapore to choose a side?

Chairman, it is often said that foreign policy begins at home. In view of the realities of our external environment and the multiracial character of Singapore, it is a reality that our social compact can be susceptible to fissure and cracks because of geopolitical tensions. Beneath the cordial and friendly nature of Singaporeans – the large number of foreigners, our ethnic and racial make-up and the number of new citizens in our economy – can easily be exploited as a fault line. This may make it more difficult for the population to be psychologically prepared for a far more contentious and unpredictable external environment. I have alluded to this prospect at previous Committee of Supply (COS) debates.

The Workers' Party (WP) agrees that Singaporeans should never allow ourselves to be divided – whether by race, religion, income, social differences or place of birth. The reality of a far more complex and diverse Singapore than ever before, can make this feel like a tall order. But it would be important to see ourselves as Singaporeans first, ahead of our ethnic differences, even as the latter categories define who we are culturally.

We should not shy away from saying that we are Singaporeans first, while recognising and honouring our ethnic and racial realities. This distinction would be critical in building up our psychological readiness for unpredictable US-China relations.

Mr Chairman, thank you for the privilege to participate in this COS. I would like to declare that I am the Non-Resident Ambassador (NRA) of Singapore to the Holy See.

One year ago, Russia launched a full-scale invasion on the small sovereign state of Ukraine. One year on, the war is still raging. Two years ago, the coup in Myanmar started, and today, the violence is reportedly getting worse. Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions between the US and China have intensified, and Taiwan, which is the red line for China, is constantly being "put to the test". And, alas, if there were any dreams for peace in the Korean Peninsula post Kim-Trump Summit – those, too, have fast faded into the distance. We have experienced supply chain disruptions since the COVID-19 pandemic and these are further exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine war, especially for food and energy. Inflation is at a 14-year high, and across the globe, we see increasing protectionism.

It is, indeed, troubling times that we live in.

Singapore is a small and young nation in this increasingly divided world where we see sharpened rivalry and deepened mistrust between nations, and even between peoples in the same country. The "Terror on Capitol Hill" is but a vivid reminder of how mistrust, once sowed, can lead to consequences that one cannot imagine could happen. Singaporeans must not think, even for a moment, that these things can never happen to us.

Hence, whether it is our National Service or our multicultural, multi-religious heritage or our shared values of building an inclusive and progressive society for all, Singaporeans must always have the courage to speak and act with integrity for our country. We are a small nation and may, at times, have to walk a tight rope. It is pertinent that Singapore does not falter, but firmly stick to principles and abide by global rules-based multilateral system, whether for international security or for international trade. Singapore may be small, but as Minister Vivian Balakrishnan often reiterated, and I quote, "We cannot be bought, nor can we be bullied."

Our diplomacy approach is simple. We are friendly with everyone. Kudos to our Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) colleagues here and in the overseas Missions for establishing strong diplomatic relationships with many countries. Singapore is not simply a fair-weather friend. I read with pride The Straits Times article on how our Singapore men from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) responded to a request by Turkey and took part in the rescue operations in Southern Turkey, which was hit by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake on 6 February. This is one of the many heartwarming examples of Singapore diplomacy at its best.

Let me speak next to the US-China relations and implications on business. Both these superpowers are Singapore's key trading partners with China as Singapore's largest trading partner and the US as Singapore's top foreign investor. The US is also Singapore's third largest trading partner and Singapore is China's top foreign investor.

In 2022, we are glad to see the high-level engagements that Singapore leaders had with the US and with China. I would like to ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs to share his perspective on the following questions.

One, with the US-China geopolitics heating up – to the extent of balloons being shot down, how do we ensure that Singapore, being a little red dot, is not caught in their "bullfight"?

Two, in view of recent Presidential-level engagements between them, how hopeful can we be that open communications and dialogue will continue to progress constructively?

Three, how can Singapore build on our strong political and diplomatic engagements with the US and China, as well as with multilateral institutions, to play an effective role as bridge-builder to tackle common challenges, for example, climate change and digital economy?

Your time is up. Please round up now.

How does Singapore's good relations and strong trade with these two superpowers, keep us in the "green lane" with both of them and enable us to not have to take sides?

Thank you. Dr Lim Wee Kiak.

Chairman, November 2022 was one of the months when we saw two important events taking place and boosted the relationship between Singapore and China. There was the 18th Joint Council of Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) that was held in Singapore. This meeting was co-chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister of Economic Policies, Mr Heng Swee Keat and the Vice Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, Mr Han Zheng. A total of 19 Memoranda of Understandings (MOUs) and Agreements were signed with both countries agreeing to continue to work to look for growth opportunities in areas, such as digital and green economies to collaborate in.

Shortly after that, in the same month, Chinese President, Mr Xi Jinping and our Prime Minister, Mr Lee Hsien Loong, met on the sidelines of the 29th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Meeting in Bangkok. Both Leaders affirmed the close and multi-faceted relationships between Singapore and China.

After months of strict lockdowns in China, China has now abandoned its zero COVID-19 policy and reopened its border. The infections have apparently peaked and normalcy has begun to return to major Chinese cities. There are reports of foreign businesses gearing up for travel into China as it reopens its door for foreign travellers again.

Can Minister give us an outlook of the Singapore-China relationship in 2023, especially in the post-pandemic era, given the many areas that both countries are keen to work on together?

Mr Don Wee is not here. Ms Sylvia Lim.

Chairman, I note the recent visit to Singapore by the Malaysian Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. The event marks a new chapter in relations across the Singapore Strait, one where our two countries can, perhaps, continue putting down some of the historical baggage accumulated over the years.

I am heartened by the fact that Singapore and Putrajaya are moving ahead on such issues as management of the Flight Information Region (FIR), development of the Rapid Transit System and reducing congestion along the Causeway. There will also be a Leaders' Retreat later this year.

Singapore and Malaysia share many things. The histories of our countries are deeply intertwined, family and social ties link our societies. We are consistently among each other's largest trading partners and Singapore is one of the main sources of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Malaysia – in fact, second largest in 2021.

The Singaporean and Malaysian governments often collaborate on external issues of mutual concern. We do so in several ways – bilaterally, through ASEAN, or as part of groupings, like the Five Power Defence Arrangements and Strait of Malacca Patrols.

Amid the COVID-19 restrictions, Singaporeans discovered how important Malaysian workers are to our economy, just as Malaysian food products are an integral part of our diet. Cultural and social currents often flow both ways across our borders as well.

As neighbours that are geographically right next to each other, there will be differences from time to time. Historically, this included differences over water supply, something that Singapore's diversification of national taps may be helping to alleviate. Then, there are disputes over Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge, which both sides resolved through arbitration at the International Court of Justice. Also appearing as occasional points of disagreement are maritime delimitation, the effects of land reclamation, as well as flight paths for military and civil aircraft. Generally, both sides seek to address differences professionally and respect the arbitral processes in which they agree to participate.

I would like to ask the Foreign Minister how the Government intends to further consolidate and build on the Singapore-Malaysia relationship, and develop new areas for mutually beneficial cooperation at both the official and unofficial levels. We would, of course, bear in mind the potential for political instability in Malaysia.

What are the areas that he seeks to explore, either bilaterally with the Malaysian government, or even unilaterally, beyond those covered during Datuk Seri Anwar's recent visit? Are there any timelines for these proposals or projects? What are the communication channels to prevent the escalation of differences, to ensure calm and professional management and resolution of differences as and when they arise?

Sir, whatever our differences, Malaysia is our closest neighbour. This bilateral relationship is one we must manage effectively in an increasingly contested and uncertain world. I ask the Foreign Minister to lay out the Government's perspective.

Chairman, Singapore has excellent ties with Malaysia at the federal level. Malaysian Prime Minister Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim recently made an official visit to Singapore in January 2023 where he met both President Halimah and Prime Minister Lee.

Prime Minister Anwar and Prime Minister Lee also witnessed the signing of several Frameworks and MOUs, including Frameworks on Cooperation in Digital Economy and Green Economy, and an MOU on Personal Data Protection, Cybersecurity and Digital Economy. Additionally, Deputy Prime Minister and Minster for Finance Lawrence Wong's first official visit in his capacity as Deputy Prime Minister was to Malaysia in September 2022.

I would like to ask the Minister, how is MFA engaging Malaysia at the state level and how does the Ministry plan to encourage greater people-to-people links.

Chairman, Singapore and Brunei have long maintained strong relations and, importantly, support for each other.

During the pandemic, Singapore and Brunei had issued a joint Ministerial Statement together with Australia, Canada, Chile, Myanmar and New Zealand affirming commitment to ensuring supply chain connectivity and launched Reciprocal Green Lanes, as well as our first Vaccinated Travel Lanes.

As both countries emerged from the pandemic, our high-level and people-to-people exchanges have steadily resumed.

Last year, Prime Minister Lee and Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong had both visited Brunei, while the Sultan of Brunei and Crown Prince of Brunei have made separate visits to Singapore in August 2022, where they discussed a broad range of areas to further bilateral cooperation in areas, such as in energy and green economy and in youth exchanges.

How have we built on the special Singapore-Brunei bilateral relationship last year, Sultan of Brunei's state visit?

Chairman, Indonesia is one of Singapore's closest neighbours. Singapore and Indonesia are connected through family ties, social and commercial relationships. As one of our most important bilateral partners, we enjoy a high level of cooperation across a wide range of sectors.

Singapore has consistently been Indonesia's top source of FDI since 2014.

According to Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI)'s figures released last year, Indonesia is Singapore's sixth largest trading partner. In June 2022, our Minister for Trade and Industry visited Indonesia to meet with his counterpart among others. Both sides expressed interest in deepening bilateral cooperation in the areas of energy, infrastructure development and the digital economy.

On the bilateral front, Indonesia's ratification of all three agreements, covering FIR, Defence Cooperation and Fugitives Extradition, under the Expanded Framework between Singapore and Indonesia in 2022, was a clear sign of the strength and maturity of our relationship and our commitment to work together as close neighbours.

Would the Minister share with the House an update on how Singapore is stepping up cooperation with Indonesia, especially from the economic perspective?

Chairman, Singapore and Indonesia have had a long-standing and deep relationship tracing back to the late 1960s, following the end of the Konfrontasi. Both were founding members of ASEAN and economic ties between both have been deep. Singapore is the largest foreign investor in Indonesia and both countries are each other's largest source of foreign visitors. The government-to-government and people-to-people ties are strong and close at many levels.

Yet, even between friendly neighbours, there will be differences and matters that need to be resolved. The Prime Ministers of both countries meet regularly and try to address these matters. Last year, Prime Minister Lee and Indonesian Prime Minister Joko Widodo held their Leaders' Retreat in January 2022 in Indonesia, where they witnessed a set of agreements on three long-standing bilateral issues under an Expanded Framework. They were an Agreement on the Realignment of the Boundary between the Jakarta FIR and the Singapore FIR, a Treaty for the Extradition of Fugitives, and a Joint Statement between the Defence Ministers on the 2007 Defence Cooperation Agreement.

These were longstanding matters. We signed the first FIR with Indonesia and the first agreement on military cooperation in 1995. The military agreement was implemented for a few years and then lapsed. The FIR could not be implemented because of external factors. In 2007, agreements were reached on both defence cooperation and extradition, but these were not ratified by Indonesia at the time.

Each of the points that were agreed upon last year give clarity to matters that are important to both countries and were negotiated as part of a framework to create a good balance of benefits for both sides.

The FIR sets out the agreed boundaries between Singapore and Indonesia in responsibilities for the FIR, with Indonesia delegating responsibility to Singapore for 25 years to provide continuity with what is going on today. There is an option to renew this delegation beyond 25 years, if both parties wish.

The Defence Cooperation Agreement provided for both governments to ratify and implement the 2007 agreement. This provides for cooperation between the armed forces and also permits the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) to continue training in South China Sea Danger Area, where it had been training since the 1960s.

The extradition treaty provides for a complete list of extraditable offences between Singapore and Indonesia and builds on and formalises existing practices, where law enforcement agencies already cooperate with each other.

In January this year, MFA announced that Indonesia had ratified all three treaties. This means that the agreements have received the necessary internal support from the Indonesian legislature.

These are promising developments. I will be grateful if the Minister can give an update on the status of the implementation of these three agreements and whether anything further needs to be done.

Chairman, the situation in Myanmar remains critical and fragile. The continuing violence in the country remains of deep concern as it also affects neighbouring countries and impacts ASEAN's community-building efforts.

Since the finalisation of ASEAN's Five-Point Consensus in 2021, there has been little progress in its implementation, especially in the area of cessation of violence. This, despite efforts by successive Special Envoys of the ASEAN Chairs, Brunei and Cambodia. As a result, much of the country remains in need of humanitarian assistance.

During the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits held in November 2022, the leaders called on all parties in Myanmar to facilitate the work of the Secretary-General of ASEAN and ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance in delivering assistance in Myanmar to all in need.

May I ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs what ASEAN is doing with regards to humanitarian assistance and what support has Singapore, as a member of ASEAN, provided and/or will continue to provide?

Chairman, Sir, ASEAN has come a long way since its establishment in 1967. ASEAN has kept the peace among us and gave us collective heft internationally.

To tap on the promise of ASEAN as a dynamic and diverse growth engine, we have developed a comprehensive agenda to expanded collaboration, tackle challenges and seize new opportunity within ourselves and with like-minded external partners.

Amidst the geopolitical tensions, ASEAN has stood apart as a region committed to economic freedom, growth and free trade and one that upholds the international rule of law. Yet, ASEAN needs more than inspiring ideals and rousing principles to thrive. We must use our collective weight and potential, to encourage key external powers from all over the world to contribute constructively to our growth and stability. In short, ASEAN must be the destination for all and be the backyard of no one.

Can our Minister for Foreign Affairs share how Singapore has worked to develop closer integration within ASEAN, and to help ASEAN engage with our external powers?

Sir, the WP supports Singapore's efforts to work with our neighbours to bolster ASEAN.

The regional grouping plays an important role in fostering deeper social, cultural and economic ties, enhancing regional stability and integrating Southeast Asian economies. An effective ASEAN can help countries in the region, including Singapore, to punch above their weight when dealing with major powers.

Despite all its benefits, ASEAN's flaws have been laid bare on several occasions, most recently with the crisis in Myanmar.

A key tenet of ASEAN is the requirement for decision-making to be based on "consultation and consensus", effectively giving any member the veto power over decisions. This requirement can hamper ASEAN's ability to address critical security issues.

How is Singapore working with ASEAN to overcome situations where consensus is hindered by a minority of member states?

According to Article 20 of the ASEAN Charter, "where a consensus cannot be achieved, the ASEAN Summit may decide how a specific decision can be made". Has there ever been any push by Singapore at the ASEAN Summit for a decision to be taken by majority vote on issues, where arriving at a consensus is impossible?

Has Singapore asked ASEAN to adopt stronger mechanisms to enforce its own consensus decisions?

For example, little progress has been achieved by the Myanmar Armed Forces in the implementation of ASEAN's Five-Point Consensus to put Myanmar back on the path to peace following the military coup.

Does the ASEAN Summit have the authority to decide by a vote to suspend Myanmar from participation in all ASEAN meetings and initiatives? This will send a strong signal to the country's military rulers that their violent actions against their own citizens are not compatible with ASEAN's principles.

Thank you, Chairman. Last November, the US and ASEAN established a comprehensive strategic partnership at the 10th ASEAN-US Summit in Cambodia. This new agreement will facilitate closer collaborations in a wide range of areas, including climate change, energy research, transportation and health, just to name a few. Will the Ministry provide an update on US engagement of ASEAN?

ASEAN has been boosting its engagement with more countries over the years, including through the extra-regional platform of ASEAN Plus Three (APT), which comprises 10 ASEAN member states, the People's Republic of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK).

Today, APT is the main platform to promote East Asian Cooperation, including political security, trade and investment, finance, energy and many, many more areas.

In view of the rising tensions between the US and China, what are the main challenges facing APT, and how can APT advance to protect and promote the interests of East Asia? Is the APT on track with the implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025? Would the Ministry share recent APT initiatives and their outcomes?

Singapore enjoys good engagement with the Pacific Islands. We have hosted the Pacific Islands FinTech Innovation Challenge in July 2022, which aimed to foster stronger collaboration between ASEAN and the Pacific Islands in digitalisation.

Will the Ministry share with us which are the areas of cooperation ASEAN and Pacific Islands seek to advance in the near future?

Sir, in a Straits Times article dated 21 December 2022, entitled "India set to become world's fastest-growing economy on post-COVID spending boom", it was reported that India is expected to grow 6% in this fiscal year ending 31 March 2024.

Given this blistering pace of growth, it is imperative that Singapore does more to engage our giant Asian neighbour for mutual benefit, not just between the countries but also ASEAN.

I was happy to note an initiative that Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi from India suggested in 2018 when he visited Singapore was made reality on 21 February 2023, when Prime Minister Lee and Prime Minister Modi both launched the PayNow-Unified Payments Interface (UPI) Linkage that will allow for cheaper, faster and safer cross-border retail payments and remittances for businesses and individuals. This is indicative of a strong partnership between Singapore and India.

I would like to ask the hon Minister for his assessment of Singapore's relations with India, and what we are doing to deepen India's engagement here and in the region.

Chairman, last June, Prime Minister Lee made his first official visit to Africa when he visited Rwanda. I understand that he had announced a three-year Singapore-Africa Partnership Package. We have also kept up ties with South Asia. Several Ministers visited the region last year, including Deputy Prime Minister Wong, who also made an official visit to India in September. What are the plans to step up engagements with emerging markets this year?

Chairman, last month, at the 16th Pacific Alliance (PA) Summit in Colombia, Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr Gan Kim Yong, signed the PA-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (PASFTA) and PA-Singapore Joint Declaration with his counterparts from the PA member states – namely, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

In July last year, we substantively concluded negotiations with the other Latin America economic bloc, the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), which comprises Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Will the Ministry elaborate how these agreements will benefit and help build trade between Singapore and Latin America? Will the Ministry also share with the House an update on our other initiatives to engage with Latin America?

Chairman, the UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, Mr James Cleverly, and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, signed a MOU on the Singapore-UK Third Country Training Programme (TCTP) last September. The MOU aims to jointly promote capacity building in ASEAN and the region.

The European Union (EU) countries like Germany are also keen for more cooperation. The Federal Chancellor of Germany made an official visit to Singapore last November, which concluded with the signing of the Germany-Singapore Framework for Sustainability and Innovation which aims to increase economic partnership.

Sir, the Middle East/Gulf countries are an important region for Singapore – not only in terms of trade but also because they are Islamic countries. So, what happens there is also important to us.

In September 2022, the Minister for Foreign Affairs made an official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as both countries commemorate the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations.

During the visit, Minister has also met the Secretary-General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), His Excellency Dr Nayef Al-Hajraf. Both sides noted the strong foundation for cooperation set in place by the GCC-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, which entered into force in 2013 and encouraged greater exchanges between the GCC and Singapore, as well as with ASEAN in areas of mutual interest, like food security and education. How is Singapore looking to build on our growing ties with the Gulf countries?

Recently, the Middle East has seen a positive spotlight with Qatar hosting a successful Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup finals. There is, thus, opportunity to bring closer people-to-people ties. In this regard, besides such close cooperation with the Gulf countries, what other role can Singapore play in assisting to alleviate the Palestinian-Israeli tensions in the Middle East, whether on our own or together with other Gulf countries?

Sir, the geopolitical stability that we have experienced for decades which has helped propelled globalisation is now being challenged. The rivalry and intensification of competition between major powers and the Ukraine war has altered the global geopolitical landscape.

We are increasingly seeing countries taking unilateral actions to decouple in areas of trade, technology, investments and finance. More countries are taking steps to shore up their economic security through policies to safeguard strategically important technologies and data.

This development would create more barriers for businesses to internationalise, with a likely negative impact on global economic growth. Can I ask the Minister for his view on how he see globalisation panning out in the years ahead?

Sir, Singapore participated in several multinational platforms like World Trade Organization (WTO), World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations (UN). We play our part, working with these agencies to deal major crisis and help resolve deep-seated global issues.

Can I ask the Minister if these multilateral organisations have been able to galvanise actions and make real impact? Is multilateralism still useful for Singapore when globalisation is under threat and what role should Singapore play?

Chairman, Sir, the international situation is in flux. One, the war in Ukraine is undermining the international system that kept the peace and defended countries' independence. Two, strained US-China relations have made armed conflict more likely and split up technology, finance and supply chains. Three, the combination of geopolitical clashes, the formation of regional trading groups and the ageing of populations in developed countries have caused inflation and slowed down economic growth. Four, the climate emergency is worsening the differences between countries, leading to greater worldwide inequality.

Fortunately, change brings opportunities for those who are bold and fast-moving. For example, advancing technology is enabling Singapore to do business with more people further away. Furthermore, Singapore is at the heart of ASEAN – a large, varied, rapidly growing and youthful region.

Can our Minister for Foreign Affairs explain how we can adjust our foreign policy to ensure that Singapore succeeds in this shifting world. How can our Foreign Service help us in this?

As Singapore and the rest of the world step down on COVID-19 restrictions, travel is picking up globally. Many Singaporeans are resuming their overseas travel. Singaporeans have always been well-travelled and "revenge travelling" is expected to fuel even more expected trips for some Singaporeans. It is common to hear people saying that they need to make up for lost time. Some Singaporeans have also taken this time to resume their overseas postings and business travels.

MFA had faced significant request to consular assistance during the pandemic. With the DORSCON Green, we should now thank our MFA officers for their three years of difficult work. How has the volume and complexity of consular services changed since easing of COVID-19 and the resumption of travel by Singaporeans? With the significant increase in outbound travel over the last few months, what advice would MFA provide to Singaporean travellers?

Could the Ministry also provide us with an update on some of its efforts to improve the delivery of consular assistance to Singaporeans overseas? What were the valuable lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic to incorporate in our consular services and development of overseas missions? What are the challenges that MFA faced that will require the public's support?

The easing of COVID-19 restrictions also coincided with the Russian-Ukraine conflict and the Turkish-Syrian earthquake. Can the Ministry provide an update on how they supported Singaporeans affected by these disasters?

Sir, our Embassies, High Commissions, Consulars, Trade Office and Overseas Missions are like a home away from home for Singaporeans overseas. They are like a one-stop service for Singaporeans in need or in a dire situation, or for seeking information and queries. These were well demonstrated during the numerous emergency situations in foreign lands and, more recently, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

When Wuhan city was dramatically locked down in January 2020, MFA and our embassy in Beijing were in touch with stranded Singaporeans there and worked on their expeditious evacuation. Similarly, when Shanghai went into lockdown mode in April 2022, our Consulate-General office in Shanghai sent food packs to Singaporeans who were unable to obtain food on their own. They also helped source for essential supplies and medications, and facilitated Singaporeans who wished to return home urgently.

This is the service ethos of our MFA officers in Singapore and overseas. We owe them a debt of gratitude for going all out to take care of Singaporeans overseas, often going beyond their call of duty and at personal risk, and leaving no one behind in any emergency situation.

Now that COVID-19 is in our rearview mirror, it is important that Singaporeans know about the extraordinary work that our MFA officers did during the pandemic, to help Singaporeans overseas and at home. This would be also useful as the Government undertake the after action review (AAR) and to look at areas that we can further improve or strengthen.

Hence, I would like to request the Minister to share with the House and Singaporeans more details of how MFA supported Singaporeans overseas affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sir, we are entering into a post-COVID-19 world with travel restrictions easing and borders reopening. There is a strong pent-up demand for travel and Singaporeans are once more beginning to travel in large numbers across the globe.

Given that it has been two to three years since people have travelled, many Singaporeans have forgotten some of the precautions and preparations needed when travelling overseas. For example, there have been stories of Singaporeans forgetting to apply for travel insurance, falling ill overseas and racking up thousands of dollars in medical expenses. Other Singaporeans have lost their passports or had been the victims of theft. Moving forward, we can expect more Singaporeans to invariably encounter problems.

With the easing of travel restrictions worldwide, what can Singaporeans do to better prepare themselves for their overseas trips and does MFA reach out to Singaporeans to share with them travel tips?

Chairman, as a small city-state, Singapore has thrived through many years of mutual exchange with many countries. We celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Singapore Cooperation Program (SCP) in 2022. Close to 150,000 foreign officials have participated in SCP courses, and a large proportion of participants were from ASEAN member states.

Given the global fight against climate change and the impact of digitalisation in dealing with real world issues, there is increasing need for countries to cooperate and develop framework, conduct practices and co-create technical solutions that are beneficial for both their domestic needs and concurrently helping to solve global issues.

While the commitment from countries is strong in wanting to reduce global emissions under the Paris Agreement, there needs to be demonstrated political will to set up intersectoral climate governance on critical areas like renewable energy transition, food security, forest and land use protection amongst others. I note that MFA has launched the Sustainability Action Package (SAP) to support the capacity-building needs of developing countries on sustainability and climate change.

Moving forward, I would like to ask the Minister how is the SCP evolving to better meet regional and global challenges? Will the SCP be advocating for an overarching coordinating body on climate change to ensure more information-sharing across ASEAN bodies, one that can convene dialogue partners to exchange, based on structural needs and solutions and also engage civil societies; something similar to the public health emergencies model established during the pandemic?

Of all the Ministries, MFA's work is probably the most esoteric to many Singaporeans. Some think that foreign policy is too complicated, that it is not as relevant to their daily lives as many domestic issues or that it is too sensitive to have open discussions about. As a result, foreign policy is often left out from public discussions. This is not healthy in a nation as educated and with as much access to information from around the world as Singaporeans are.

In a speech in July 2017, the Foreign Minister stated that "our diplomacy is only credible, if we are able to maintain a domestic consensus on Singapore's core interests and our foreign policy priorities." If there is insufficient engagement with Singaporeans on foreign policy, it will be close to impossible to build and maintain that "domestic consensus", especially in the face of a plethora of news and information from abroad, including disinformation.

How is MFA engaging Singaporeans on foreign policy matters and explaining our core interests to citizens of all ages and education levels? Do our missions engage overseas Singaporeans on foreign policy?

How is the Ministry countering some of the narratives put out by foreign actors that attempt to influence Singaporeans' views on policies that may go against our national interest?

During the debate on the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Bill in 2021, Minister K. Shanmugam acknowledged that a whole-of-society effort is required for public education and that he "welcome(s) everyone's assistance in helping to engage and educate the population."

How is MFA facilitating this? Is the Ministry working with schools, academic institutions, non-government organisations (NGOs) and business chambers here and abroad to engage, inform and involve them in Singapore's foreign policy?

Mr Chairman, the emphasis on families and equality in this year's Budget makes it a good time to discuss the role of women in diplomacy.

Apart from just looking at the proportion of women in roles across our foreign service, I would also like to understand what more is being done to support women and their families in the foreign service as they move ahead with their careers.

International Women's Day is coming up next week. Yet, I note that unlike many countries in the region, such as Australia, the Philippines and Indonesia, we still have not yet had a woman take on the role of Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Women in key leadership positions create role models for those who wish to follow in their footsteps. Studies have also found that having women involved in a peace process increases the chances of a negotiation being reached.

Getting to those roles, however, may not be easy. The foreign service can be a tough job – being on call, constant travel, frequent relocation and a high stress working environment. This can make having a stable family life particularly difficult.

These pressures may fall particularly heavily on women who seek a long-term career in our foreign service. We still live in societies where there are greater expectations on women to be carers and to, perhaps, even forego their career prospects to fulfil these obligations.

I would like to ask what steps the Ministry is taking to support women in our foreign service, especially to ensure that they have an equal chance of success. What is being done to regularly review the circumstances faced by women in the foreign service and their families, and improve on existing measures? How much of the approximately $10 million earmarked for "Manpower Development" in MFA's FY2023 Budget is allocated to equality efforts?

Striving for our Singaporean aspirations of equality in the foreign service sets a tone for society – that gender equality is of importance across all areas.

Sir, through my visits to Rohingya refugee camps, I have seen firsthand the amazing work that United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) does in helping the most vulnerable, defenseless and voiceless people.

UNHCR serves millions of refugees. They need money to help them, but the UNHCR was about $4 billion, or 44% short of the budget that it needs to carry out its work.

In 2021, Singapore ranked 103rd on a list of 125 donors to the UNHCR. Contributions that ranked ahead of Singapore included countries with a far lower per capita gross domestic product (GDP).

I previously asked that we increase our contributions. The Government responded that we are a small country with limited resources. I understand that and I also appreciate that our contribution is comparable to that of other ASEAN countries.

It has been six years since we increased our contributions by $10,000, to US$60,000 annually now. Can we do our part by considering increasing our contributions to the UNHCR further?

Almost every month, I join volunteers in Nee Soon East and Darul Makmur mosque to teach students at a refugee school. We talk to the children about their ambition. I struggle because I know their dreams are almost impossible because they are refugees with very little hope of getting citizenship.

Amazingly, without formal education, four of them have completed their GSCE "O" Levels and are now pursuing a university degree and citizenship under the Philippines' Complementary Pathways programme. I met with two of them, Rehana and Saber, who just started their degree in accountancy and I finally saw hope in their eyes. They have been refugees their whole lives.

In Singapore, we say education is a great equaliser and we tell our children that if you study and work hard, you have a chance of succeeding. But this is not possible for many refugee children around the world. I understand that Singapore faces difficulties in accepting refugees because of our small land size and I am not asking for that.

We had around 1,700 international students on scholarship in 2019. Can the Government consider following the Philippines and extending scholarships to a limited number of refugees?

Chairman, Non-Resident Ambassadors (NRAs) are a unique part of Singapore's diplomacy. The scheme widens the MFA's reach beyond countries in which we have a permanent mission and helps to build personal diplomatic relations with a larger number of countries.

I would like to ask the Minister: how does the Ministry tracks the performance of NRAs and the effectiveness of their representation, and the frequency of such assessments. Further, could I also enquire on the resources that are made available to enable them to carry out their duties?

I have also noticed that most of the NRAs have private emails, some even Gmail accounts listed on the Singapore Government directory online and on MFA's website. I would like to enquire whether NRAs are given official MFA email addresses and whether it is prudent to allow them to use private email addresses in correspondence with foreign officials?

Finally, I would like to ask whether the Ministry has any plans to increase the number of NRA representations and to which regions or countries?

Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.

Mr Chairman, 2022 was a very busy year. We handled close to 200 incoming and outgoing visits. We expect a higher tempo in the year ahead, especially with more countries reopening their borders. The demand for consular services will intensify as more Singaporeans travel overseas and sometimes get into trouble.

But more critically, the world has become much more complex, with a perfect storm of multiple interlocking crises in the military, security, economic, public health, climate, technological and sociopolitical domains. The global order, which has served us so well for six decades, is under severe strain.

Mr Henry Kwek asked how our foreign policy should adapt to these evolving trends. Let me highlight four points.

First, foreign policy begins at home. I think the Leader of Opposition also agrees with that. If we are not united and successful as a thriving, vital city-state in the heart of Southeast Asia, we will quickly become irrelevant to the world. I am also gratified that if you listen to all the speeches by the People's Action Party (PAP) Members of Parliament, the Opposition and the Nominated Members of Parliament; in fact, if you all exchanged your speeches, it would not have been noticeable. This speaks well to the consensus on foreign policy in Singapore.

Second point, our foreign policy must be based on a clear-eyed understanding of Singapore's long-term national interests and our vulnerabilities in a volatile and dangerous world. We refuse to be a vassal state that can be bullied or bought. We will not be a proxy or a stalking horse for any superpower. We will uphold principles, but we will not choose sides.

For instance, our principled position on the Russian invasion of Ukraine – which, in fact, has just marked its first grim anniversary – illustrates this point. We defend the right of all nations, big or small, to have their sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity fully respected.

Third, we must continue to make common cause with as many countries as possible by building overlapping circles of friends. The innermost circle, obviously, consists of our immediate neighbours and ASEAN.

Fourth point, we must always, always uphold international law and rules-based multilateralism and the avenues for peaceful resolution of disputes – precisely because we are a tiny city-state.

Let me now deal with the questions on the US-China competition. I believe Mr Vikram Nair, Ms Tin Pei Ling, Ms Janet Ang and the Leader of the Opposition have asked about the impact of the difficult and complicated US-China relationship on our region and on Singapore.

This represents, in fact, a fundamental deficit of strategic trust, rooted in incompatible worldviews and aggravated by their respective domestic political pressures. Both sides wish to avoid conflict, but neither side can afford to be seen as weak.

The "balloon incident" reflected this dynamic. It exacerbated suspicions and tensions amidst strong domestic reactions on both sides. The incident was a setback to the interactions between the US and China. But I am glad that Secretary of State Antony Blinken and State Councilor Wang Yi did meet in Munich earlier this month. It shows that both sides recognise the necessity for dialogue and diplomacy, especially at times like these.

Effective communication between the US and China is vital to manage risks in global affairs. Both sides need to establish guardrails, as hardened, negative views against the "other side" increasingly become structural features of geopolitical discourse, in both the US and China.

For example, there is a growing body of opinion within China that the US is a superpower in terminal decline, which is determined to contain China's rise at all costs. In the US, there has also been a deep shift in attitudes towards China. The US believes that China "is the only competitor with both the intent to reshape the international order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military and technological power to advance that objective". It is now a settled bipartisan US view that China's rising power is inimical to American interests and values.

Both sides are now locked in an intense and sharpening strategic competition across multiple domains. The US has identified computing-related technologies, biotech and clean tech as force multipliers throughout the technological ecosystem and emphasised leadership in each of these arenas as a national security imperative. Consequently, the US has decided that it needs to maintain as large a lead as possible over China in these fields. To this end, the US is implementing systematic measures, including export restrictions on advanced semi-conductor technology. There are, in fact, ongoing discussions on an outbound investment screening mechanism.

On its part, China is determined to achieve greater self-reliance and to prevent itself from being held to ransom. It is progressively onshoring segments of its supply chains in the tech sector. Collectively, these moves by both sides, increase the danger of a grand bifurcation in technological and economic systems, a deepening of tensions and an elevation of mutual suspicions. These have profound implications for the rest of the world.

There is a real risk that the steps taken by the US and China to reduce their mutual interdependence will adversely affect the global economy. Singapore will not escape such spill-over consequences. Our open economy is highly dependent on doing business with the entire world and we have benefited greatly from being a vital node in globalised supply chains. The US is the largest foreign investor in Singapore and our top trading partner for services. But we are also one of the largest investors in China, which is our top trading partner in goods. If the US and China get along, then Singapore will be ideally positioned to prosper. On the other hand, if things go wrong between them, these strengths can quickly turn into vulnerabilities for Singapore.

The Taiwan Strait has become a more dangerous flashpoint. For China, Taiwan is a part of China and Taiwanese independence is an absolute red line.

However, to the US and some other western countries, Taiwan is a vibrant democracy that they need to protect, just like Ukraine, which in fact, is different, because Ukraine is an independent country and a member of the UN.

Meanwhile in Taiwan, more and more people are identifying themselves as exclusively Taiwanese. Whilst neither the US nor China seek a military conflict over Taiwan, missteps or mishaps can easily trigger a cycle of "tit-for-tat" actions and reactions that spiral dangerously out of control. A conflict over Taiwan will have global repercussions and a much more direct impact on Singapore than the ongoing war in Ukraine. Not only is Taiwan much nearer to us geographically, but our ties with the US, with China and Taiwan are much stronger and deeper, compared to our ties with Russia and Ukraine.

We have repeatedly stressed to both the US and China that Singapore and indeed, the countries in our region want to maintain good relations with both countries. We do not wish to be forced to choose sides. We participate in multiple initiatives that have overlapping memberships, but do not always include both parties, for instance, whether you talk about the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, or the Global Development Initiative.

We have always put Singapore's national interest first and we take principled positions impartially, even if it does not always please one or the other superpower. We need the quiet confidence and the national unity to do so consistently, for the long term.

Given the grave implications for the world, we, like most countries, hope that the US and China work out a modus vivendi between themselves. Senior Minister of State Sim Ann will elaborate on our cooperation with both the US and China later.

Let me now turn to our immediate neighbours: Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei. We continue to strengthen our relations with all three countries.

Mr Vikram Nair asked about the significance of the Expanded Framework agreements with Indonesia. It is noteworthy that Singapore and Indonesia recently completed our respective domestic legal processes for the ratification of the three agreements under the Expanded Framework, namely the FIR Agreement, the Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA), and the Extradition Treaty (ET).

For the FIR Agreement, the next step is for Singapore and Indonesia to jointly seek approval from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Once the FIR Agreement is ready for implementation, both sides will arrange for all three agreements to enter into force simultaneously, on a mutually agreed date.

These three agreements will bring tangible benefits to both our countries. Under the FIR Agreement, Indonesia will delegate to Singapore the provision of air navigation services in portions of the airspace, which are within the re-aligned Jakarta FIR, which are nearest to Singapore. This will ensure that the present and future air traffic to Changi Airport and nearby Indonesian airports continue to be managed safely and efficiently.

The DCA will enhance cooperation and interaction between our two military forces. It will provide clarity for the SAF's training in Indonesian archipelagic and territorial waters and airspace, on a basis that fully respects Indonesia's sovereignty over its territory, while preserving Singapore's rights under United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Finally, the ET will strengthen cooperation between our law enforcement agencies to combat crime and to complement our existing cooperation with Indonesia. Taken together, the resolution of these three long-standing issues paves the way for us to advance our bilateral cooperation significantly in the years ahead.

We look forward to welcoming President Joko Widodo to Singapore soon for the next Singapore-Indonesia Leaders' Retreat. This will be a good opportunity for our leaders to build on the strong progress in the bilateral relationship.

Mr Don Wee and Ms Sylvia Lim asked about our relations with Malaysia. Our close relations with Malaysia are underpinned by strong people-to-people ties and frequent high-level exchanges. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim became Malaysia's 10th Prime Minister after their 15th General Election. Prime Minister Anwar is an old friend of Singapore. Many Singaporean Ministers have known our Malaysian counterparts for decades, and we have kept in regular contact. At the end of January, we welcomed Prime Minister Anwar on his introductory visit to Singapore. His delegation included four Ministers, the Sarawak Premier and the Johor Menteri Besar.

It was a fruitful visit. We signed three government-to-government MOUs: the Framework Agreements on Digital and Green Economy, as well as the MOU on Personal Data Protection, Cybersecurity and Digital Economy. These signal our commitment to work on new and emerging areas of mutual interest.

We look forward to welcoming Prime Minister Anwar back in Singapore later this year for the 10th Leaders' Retreat. Meanwhile, we also have significant ongoing cooperation projects, including the Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link between Singapore and Johor Bahru. This project will facilitate more convenient two-way travel for the tens of thousands who cross the border every day. It is making good progress and is expected to commence operations by the end of 2026.

However, as with any friendship, problems will, from time to time, arise. For example, while the issue of sovereignty over Pedra Branca has been conclusively settled, Malaysia has raised objections to Singapore's development works at Pedra Branca. These works are needed to enhance maritime safety and security, and to improve search and rescue capabilities in the area. They also ensure that Pedra Branca is adequately protected against the threat of sea-level rise.

Let me assure you that these development works are fully in accordance with international law and Singapore's sovereignty over the island and its waters.

Nevertheless, in the spirit of mutual cooperation and good faith, we temporarily suspended the works in May 2022, to facilitate discussions on Malaysia's concerns and to comprehensively address Malaysia's queries.

In December 2022, Singapore put forward proposals to Malaysia to resolve the issue and move forward with the works. Subsequently, we agreed to Malaysia's request for more time for them to consider our clarifications and proposals. Presently, the development works remain paused due to the monsoon season. We will manage our differences constructively and pragmatically, and not allow any single issue to overshadow the entire relationship.

With Brunei, our unique, long-standing, special relationship remains strong and mutually beneficial. We continue to sustain a good momentum of bilateral exchanges. Last year, we were honoured to welcome His Majesty Sultan Bolkiah on his fifth state visit to Singapore and His Royal Highness Crown Prince Billah for the eighth Singapore-Brunei Young Leaders' Programme. Prime Minister attended His Majesty's 76th birthday celebration in July 2022 and Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong visited Brunei at the start of this year. Deputy Prime Minister called on the Sultan and the Crown Prince, and had productive meetings with many Bruneian Ministers. We look forward to working with Brunei to expand our cooperation in emerging areas, such as the green economy, agritech and energy. Second Minister Maliki Osman will elaborate further on these areas of cooperation subsequently.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked about our efforts to deepen cooperation between ASEAN and the US, as well as our regional neighbours. Singapore has always advocated engaging major players so that they all have a stake in the peace, stability and development of our region, and can create a stable balance of power in the Asia Pacific. This provides small countries, like Singapore, more room for manoeuvre than if there was only a single power dominating our region. Naturally, we do not want the major powers to make Asia their battleground or conduct proxy wars here. Instead, we want them to be engaged constructively – politically and economically – so as to enhance regional cooperation, development and security. This will benefit all countries, big and small, in our region.

This is why Singapore seeks to forge overlapping circles of friends as embodied in the open, inclusive and ASEAN-centred regional architecture. ASEAN-led mechanisms like the East Asia Summit, ASEAN Regional Forum, ASEAN Plus Three, and the Plus-One summits bring major powers including the US, China, Russia, India, Japan, the EU and Australia to the same table convened by ASEAN. Our external partners also want to do more with ASEAN. Last year, ASEAN upgraded its relations with the US and India to Comprehensive Strategic Partnerships, after doing the same with China and Australia the year before. ASEAN also signed the Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement with the EU in October 2022. We, therefore, welcome the interest of major powers to take clear stakes in our region and in our prosperity, and to engage ASEAN on our own merits.

For this to work, ASEAN must remain united, coherent and credible. Mr Gerald Giam asked if we are looking at alternative options for decision making, when consensus is difficult or hindered. The need for consensus is, in fact, a design feature, it is not a bug, precisely because of the great diversity within ASEAN. No other regional association has the level of diversity that ASEAN represents. Nevertheless, the ASEAN Charter does provide for decision-making at the Leaders' level, even if there are profound political problems in a member state. For example, we have not allowed the coup in Myanmar to paralyse ASEAN or to hold the rest of us hostage.

As ASEAN Chair this year, Indonesia has an ambitious agenda to step up ASEAN integration in key areas, including the green economy and digital sphere. In particular, the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement promotes our economic integration and growth. Singapore has also committed to assisting Timor-Leste in its accession to ASEAN membership, which is to be achieved through an objective, criteria-based roadmap. We urge other ASEAN member states and our external partners to similarly support Timor-Leste. Singapore will also work closely with and support Indonesia in fulfilling its priorities as Chair this year.

Mr Seah Kian Peng asked about the outlook in Myanmar and ASEAN's role in it. Two years after the coup in Myanmar, the situation remains grave and grim. Singapore and ASEAN remain deeply disappointed with the lack of progress in the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus. We will not interfere with domestic politics in Myanmar, but the solution must ultimately involve national reconciliation amongst all the domestic stakeholders living there. This will not be easy to achieve.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked about the continued relevance of multilateralism. As a small state, the observance of international law is vital for our sovereignty and independence. But the fact remains, we live in an increasingly fragmented world, with the erosion of shared rules for the global commons and where more frequent resort to unilateral action. It is, therefore, even more important for Singapore to strongly advocate adherence to international law and to actively contribute to shaping global norms.

Mr Alex Yam asked about the implications of the war in Ukraine. Let me state for the record: Russia's invasion is a clear and egregious violation of international law and the UN Charter. The UN Charter enshrines the core principles of peaceful settlement of disputes, the non-use of force and non-interference in a country's internal affairs. Russia's invasion sets a very dangerous precedent that jeopardises the security and existence of small states, and especially small states like us.

There are many other global challenges such as food security, emerging diseases and threats in the cyberspace that require collective action. The most salient and urgent is climate change, and Singapore is particularly sensitive to this as an alternative energy-disadvantaged and low-lying island state.

Singapore must continue advocating for multilateralism and globalisation, and support for the UN. We do our part to contribute to the multilateral governance of the global commons. We are helping to develop fair, inclusive and well-functioning global carbon markets. Singapore has been co-facilitating Article 6 negotiations on developing carbon markets at the Conference of Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Climate Change (UNFCCC) and concluded carbon market collaboration agreements with Ghana, Peru and Papua New Guinea at COP27 last year.

We also have a significant role in developing international oceans law, as well as new global norms in cyberspace and in outer space. Ambassador Rena Lee serves as President of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Intergovernmental Conference, which aims to enhance the sustainable use of our maritime global commons. Singapore, represented by our Permanent Representative to the UN, Mr Burhan Gafoor, chairs the UN Open-ended Working Group on security of and in the use of information and communications technologies, to build a safe and secure cyberspace for all.

Singaporeans are also taking the lead in other international organisations. For example, Mr Daren Tang serves as Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization – this is the first time a Singaporean has led a UN agency, while Raja Kumar serves as the President of the Financial Action Task Force – he also happens to be the first Singaporean to have assumed this role.

Strategic and geopolitical tensions are also undermining the multilateral trading system. Singapore depends on a stable, functioning and free international trading system to make a living, centred around a common set of rules for all. Remember, our trade volume is three times our GDP. So, we do need to continue to uphold such a system as embodied and represented by the WTO. We also diversify our trade relationships through regional arrangements such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) – that is ASEAN-10, plus China, Australia, New Zealand, ROK and Japan. We have also substantially completed the negotiations for the Mercosur-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (FTA), and we have also signed on to the Pacific Alliance-Singapore FTA. Mind you, all these have been signed during the last couple of years when there was a pushback against globalisation, against free trade and in fact, the world being disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. But we have been able to double down on the cause of free trade.

We will need to continue to seize opportunities in global integration and also seize opportunities in emerging areas like the digital economy and sustainability. We have concluded Digital Economy Agreements (DEAs) with several like-minded partners. For instance, we have signed the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA) with Chile and New Zealand, and in fact, right now, this agreement with only three small countries – Chile, New Zealand and Singapore – we are now reviewing accession requests from the ROK, China, Canada and Costa Rica.

We signed the landmark Singapore-Australia Green Economy Agreement in October 2022, the first-of-its-kind agreement that will facilitate trade and investment in environmentally sustainable goods and services, and such collaborations are crucial as we work towards keeping Singapore sustainable and economically vibrant.

Let me conclude. We are entering a period of intense superpower rivalry, global economic disruption and looming climate change, and all these within a more fragmented, turbulent world. It is worth recalling the words of Mr Lee Kuan Yew: "We have to live with the world as it is, not as we wish it should be." Singapore and Singaporeans must approach all these challenges with a combination of realism and quiet confidence. Do not underestimate the external dangers, but neither be overwhelmed by them.

We do have significant strengths. We are one of the few countries whose unity has, in fact, strengthened after the pandemic. That is why there is strong interest from businesses, investors and entrepreneurs from elsewhere, queueing up to come to Singapore and to plug into our ecosystem. They recognise and appreciate the stability and consistency with which we have run our affairs, both internally and externally. This reputation for consistency and stability, and high levels of public trust and unity provides us with the strength and the resilience to manage our foreign policy challenges in a very hazardous world.

Second Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Mohamad Maliki Osman.

Mr Chairman, Mr Don Wee, Dr Wan Rizal and Ms Sylvia Lim asked about our relations with Malaysia. Malaysia and Singapore are deeply intertwined, with strong people-to-people, cultural and economic linkages. There is a high tempo of two-way exchanges and visits. Since the start of the year, there have been more than 10 high-level visits, including by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. President Halimah will make a state visit to Malaysia next month.

We also devote considerable resources to deepening our links with the various Malaysian states. Apart from the visit by Johor Menteri Besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi earlier this month, we also hosted delegations from Terengganu, Selangor and Sarawak.

I will be visiting Terengganu and Kelantan in April – to explore opportunities to work together for mutual benefit. Ultimately, the relationship between Singapore and Malaysia is undergirded by enduring people-to-people linkages, which we are committed to strengthening into the next generation. Mr Chairman, please allow me to speak briefly in Malay.

(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech on Pg 239.] As a small nation without natural resources, our foreign policy is to strengthen our relations with as many nations and to stay relevant in a rapidly changing world. At the same time, we have to be united and concur that our foreign policy begins at home. Every citizen plays a role towards advancing Singapore's interests in the international arena.

Singapore's foreign policy will always be based on our principles and interests. Every choice and decision we make prioritises Singapore’s interests. We are confronting a period of intense superpower competition and a more fragmented and turbulent world. But Singapore approaches these challenges from a position of strength. Our political and economic stability, as well as our consistency in managing our affairs, are valued by others around the world. At the same time, our unity and public trust are crucial to navigating foreign policy challenges. In this regard, Singaporeans trust their Government and remain more united than ever before. I urge Singaporeans to be more aware of our external environment, so that they know the realities of the world we live in, but also have the hope and confidence that, if we stay united, we can emerge from these challenges stronger.

Therefore, we should continue to endeavour to strengthen relations with our neighbours, especially our most immediate neighbours. Let me start with Malaysia. As Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said during Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's visit to Singapore in January, Singapore and Malaysia share a relationship quite unlike any other. A key pillar in our relations is the deep familial ties, as well as our shared history, languages and cultures. Singaporeans and Malaysians frequently visit each other’s countries, whether for work, play or visiting relatives.

However, we cannot take the current strength of our people-to-people relationship for granted. We must ensure our younger generation are invested in it. We must create opportunities for young Singaporeans and Malaysians to engage one another, and spend time together to learn about and appreciate one another’s perspectives and aspirations. Our education system plays an important role in this, especially now with the easing of COVID-19-related travel restrictions.

As we know, we need to enhance in-person interactions to form close-knit friendships. Similarly, for classroom concepts, such as shared cultures and civilisations, to come to life – we need in-person interactions. So, I was delighted that 41 junior college students in the Malay Language Elective Programme had the chance to visit Selangor and Ipoh last year to attend classes at the Universiti Putra Malaysia where they learned about Malay heritage and even tried their hand at making fermented fish in Kampung Beng in Ipoh!

Importantly, such educational exchanges are not limited to our students. Teachers are also encouraged to build their professional networks with their Malaysian counterparts, through the E-Immersion Programme, which saw more than 30 Malay Language teachers and pedagogical leaders from the Ministry of Education (MOE) engaging their counterparts from the Sultan Idris Education University (UPSI) to exchange best practices on the teaching of the Malay language, literature and culture.

Beyond education, we are also enhancing cultural and religious exchanges. Just last month, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) hosted the religious authorities from Perak, led by its Mufti Dr Wan Zahidi Wan Teh, to discuss best practices regarding the generation of fatwa or religious advisories, and the management of asatizah or religious teachers. On the cultural front, with the Government's support, practitioners of various Malay art forms in Singapore are engaging more widely with Malaysian artists and audiences.

As close neighbours, however, we acknowledge that there will be differences on some issues from time to time. But we must seek practical ways in managing these bilateral issues and always prioritise working together to improve our peoples' lives. We intend to continue this spirit of pragmatic cooperation with Prime Minister Anwar and his team, as we build a Singapore-Malaysia relationship which our future younger generations can be proud of.

Finally, I would like to put on record our gratitude for the assistance provided by the Malaysian authorities in rescuing three Singaporeans after the tragic landslide near Genting last December.

(In English): Mr Chairman, allow me to continue my speech in English.