Policy

The Republic of Singapore has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty.

In November 2019, Singapore stated at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that, “Singapore supports all initiatives against the indiscriminate use of anti-personnel landmines. At the same time, as a small State, Singapore firmly believes that the legitimate security concerns and the right to self-defence of any State cannot be disregarded. A blanket ban on all types of…anti-personnel landmines may therefore by counter-productive.” Singapore reiterated that it “supports international efforts to resolve the humanitarian concerns about anti-personnel landmines. We will continue to work with members of the international community towards a durable and truly global solution.”[1]

In 2010, the ICBL asked political parties in Singapore to share their views on the Mine Ban Treaty. The Singapore Democratic Party said that it supports a complete ban on the manufacture and use of mines and expressed its concern over Singapore’s role in mine production. It urged the Singapore government to join the treaty.[2] The Singapore Workers’ Party said that while it shares the humanitarian concerns surrounding the use of mines, and had asked the Minister of Defense about joining the treaty,[3] it would not be issuing any public statement due to other priorities.[4] In 2009, the Workers’ Party requested a written reply in parliament regarding the government’s stand on the Mine Ban Treaty.[5]

On 12 December 2019, Singapore voted in favor of annual UNGA Resolution 74/61, which calls for the full implementation and universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty, as it has done in previous years.[6]

Singapore has regularly attended Mine Ban Treaty meetings, most recently the Seventeenth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in November 2018.[7] However, Singapore did not send observers to the convention’s Fourth Review Conference in Oslo, Norway, in November 2019.

Singapore is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), nor is it party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Use, stockpiling, production, and transfer

A Singaporean official previously stated that the army only uses antipersonnel mines for training, but that it must retain the option to use mines for self-defense.[8] The Ministry of Defense has not replied to requests for further information about Singapore’s training program.

In March 2009, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official restated that Singapore will not disclose any information regarding its stockpile of antipersonnel mines for defense and security reasons. The official stated that Singapore maintains stringent controls on its stockpile management system and that all mines are destroyed after their expiration date.[9]

Singapore has long acknowledged that it produces antipersonnel mines, but officials have declined to reveal if production lines are currently running. Singapore Technologies Engineering (STE), through its subsidiary Singapore Technologies Kinetics, is the government-linked company that has produced antipersonnel mines.[10] In May 2010, when asked if it has halted production, STE told the Monitor that, “ST Engineering does not produce landmines and cluster munitions for export, nor are we a sub-contractor to anyone who does.”[11] This was reaffirmed in November 2015, when the company’s chief executive officer declared STE “is now no longer in the business of designing, producing and selling of anti-personnel mines and cluster munitions or any related key components.”[12]

Singapore declared an indefinite moratorium on the export of all antipersonnel mines in February 1998. In May 2011, an official confirmed that the moratorium remains in place.[13]