Reply by Minister on the Defence Cooperation Agreement at Parliament

16 Jul 2007

Mr Michael Anthony Palmer asked the Minister for Defence what is the present status of the Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) with Indonesia given the fact that a DCA was signed between Singapore and Indonesia and how will the Minister move forward so as to implement the DCA that was signed with Indonesia.

The Minister for Defence (Mr Teo Chee Hean): Mr Speaker, Sir, as stated by the Minister for Foreign Affairs in his answer to an earlier Question today, the Extradition Treaty, DCA and the four associated Implementing Arrangements (IAs) to the DCA were negotiated and concluded as one package. Let me give the House a sense of how this carefully negotiated package came about, a flavour of the discussions. The negotiations were complex and took many rounds.

The meeting on 23rd April discussed and finalised all outstanding matters pertaining to the ET and DCA, and it involved all the key players from Singapore and Indonesia including the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, the Ministers of Defence, the armed forces chiefs and the Chief Negotiators of the ET and DCA. All the key people were there. This was a protracted meeting that started in the morning and lasted well into the night, during which all remaining issues in the ET and DCA were extensively discussed and settled. This was done with goodwill and patience on both sides as we worked towards an agreement, making sure all the matters were covered and settled. Both sides had ample opportunity to raise any issues of concern for discussion. At the end of the meeting on 23 April, the ET, DCA and its four associated IAs were finalised, completed and agreed upon by both sides as a complete package. In fact, that night, we issued a joint statement with Indonesia which said, "both sides made significant progress and were able to reach agreement on all the remaining issues". The joint statement reflected the spirit of goodwill in which the package had been negotiated and the good faith in which it had been concluded by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Ministers of Defence and the armed forces chiefs of both countries.

1

Since then, however, Indonesia has indicated that it wants to impose substantive changes and new conditions on Republic of Singapore Navy training in Area Bravo. Naval training is not something new. It had been an integral part of the previous MTA which we had with Indonesia. During the many rounds of negotiation since October 2005, training for the Republic of Singapore Navy had always been a subject of discussion. The focus of the discussions was not on the type of training which had previously already been conducted under the old MTA but, rather, the focus was on which area the naval training should take place in. Several possible areas for naval training were considered, and both sides finally agreed on 23rd April after extensive discussions that the area for the naval training would be in what is now called Area Bravo. The training itself was never in contention or a subject of discussion, only where it would take place.

The media has also reported comments about the interpretation of Article 6 of the DCA and how this relates to the IAs. During the series of negotiations leading up to the meeting on 23rd April, both sides agreed to have four IAs to the DCA. An IA for Area Bravo was never raised during the course of the negotiations. If there was a need to impose any new conditions on naval training or to conclude a separate IA on naval training, Indonesia had ample opportunity to raise the matter for discussion during the negotiations, before the carefully balanced overall package was finally settled and agreed to on 23rd April. Singapore's view therefore is that the package of agreements that was concluded on 23rd April is complete, and that what is already contained in the DCA and its four associated IAs is sufficient to implement the DCA.

Nevertheless, as mentioned by my colleague, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, out of goodwill and in the spirit of cooperation, Singapore made a proposal to Indonesia on 22nd May 2007 suggesting a way forward. This was a significant step and a sincere attempt to resolve this matter finally and conclusively. We are still awaiting a reply from Indonesia on the specific proposals in our offer. We welcome the assurances from Indonesia that it does not wish to change what was agreed, and look forward to being able to conclude and implement the agreements.

Singapore values the long standing relationship that has been built up between the SAF and the TNI. This close relationship strengthens regional security and has served both sides well for many years, especially in times of crisis when we have come to each other's assistance. We are committed to working together with our counterparts in Indonesia to ensure that this relationship remains strong and positive.

Mr Michael Palmer (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Sir, I believe the Indonesians have indicated that they want a cooling-off period before they come back to the table. Is there any indication of a timeline? Will we have to wait for a year or so before this matter is concluded?

Mr Teo Chee Hean: Mr Speaker, Sir, as I said, we have made them a serious proposal on 22nd May. We are hopeful that the Indonesians will be able to study the proposal and come back to us with a substantive response to the points that we have put forward in our proposal. We have no indication how much time the Indonesians may need for this. We do understand that they have their own processes and considerations but we do hope that they will come back to us so that we will be able to move forward and conclude this agreement. We are certainly committed to doing so.

2

Ms Phek Hoong: Sir, the Indonesian media has been reporting the specifics of what the Indonesian side has been thinking on the issue, including the specific areas of disagreement. Can I ask the Minister to please enlighten us on this way forward that has been proposed to Singapore because it is puzzling when we say that we do not want to make any substantive changes when the Indonesian does, and we say that there is a solution put forward? Can the Minister please enlighten us?

Mr Teo Chee Hean: Mr Speaker, Sir, I am not privy to the internal considerations of the Indonesian government and the people in its various branches of government. I also can only read what has been communicated in the newspapers and some of the statements do seem a little self- contradictory. But we do hope that Indonesia will look at this substantive offer that we have made which we believe would address most of their concerns and come back to us with a substantive response to this proposal. We believe that this is a good way forward.

We also believe that the best way forward is to be able to communicate with each other substantively in this manner rather than to make statements in public which, one side or the other, may not know how seriously to take it because some of them are quite clearly polemical and we should not be conducting negotiations in that way.Dr Lim Wee Kiak (Sembawang): Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to ask the Minister what are our options if this DCA does not go through. What are the long-term implications to our forces in terms of training and whether we have other alternatives? If we have other alternatives, would the Minister consider these alternatives now rather than to wait until then?

Mr Teo Chee Hean: Mr Speaker, Sir, these training arrangements with Indonesia have been going on for many years. As I told the House before, I participated in the first-ever exercise with Indonesia in 1974, probably dates me a little. But we had training arrangements with Indonesia to train, for example, in Pekan Baru area since the 1980s. We signed the military training agreement with them in 1995. And we have had very good interactions with Indonesia through these years. We have been able to work together in times of crisis. I recall many of them because I was directly involved in things like the rescue of hostages in Irian Jaya; I was involved during the search and rescue operations in the Musi river when the SilkAir aircraft crashed; and I was also involved in the tsunami relief operations. So I remember all these things very vividly and distinctly. And the thing that struck me about all these events was how closely and fraternally the TNI and SAF were able to work together because we personally knew the people on the other side. I think that has been the great value of the close exchanges and interactions that we have had with Indonesia. And this is the main reason why we feel that we would want to continue with the Defence Cooperation Agreement to strengthen our relations with Indonesia. The relationship is an important one for us from the strategic level and also from the ability to work with each other in a comfortable, friendly and familiar way.

In terms of training of the SAF, we have other training alternatives. We have training agreements, DCAs and MOUs of various kinds with more than half a dozen countries. We are able to train there and to train with their forces and we appreciate very much the opportunities these various countries have given us to train the SAF there. These arrangements will enable us to continue to maintain the operational readiness and training levels of our soldiers, sailors and airmen.

3

Ms (Ang Mo Kio): Mr Speaker, Sir, as in any offer, there should be a validity period. Shall we impose this validity period? I know that we are very serious about this whole thing but, on the other hand, when I look at the Indonesian side, I think they are taking their time just balancing to see what is of benefit to them. We have done so many things for them, helping them all this while but yet I think they are dragging their feet. I think that we should impose a validity period.

Mr Teo Chee Hean: Mr Speaker, Sir, I think in such matters, a certain amount of goodwill and patience is always necessary. We try our best to understand the internal processes that are going on in the Indonesia of today and to accommodate them as much as possible. So for this process, the approach that we will take is to exercise as much goodwill and as much patience as possible, continue to demonstrate our will to want to work closely with Indonesia, and to conclude a good agreement with them. I think this is the only way that we can progress and move forward in our relations with our friends in Indonesia.

4