Formed 11 August 1970 Founded 11 August 1970 | Number of employees 282 (2015) | |
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Ministers responsible Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for DefenceOng Ye Kung, Senior Minister of StateDr Maliki Osman, Senior Minister of State Agency executives MG Perry Lim, Chief of the Defence ForceChan Yeng Kit, Permanent Secretary (Defence)Ng Chee Kern, Permanent Secretary (Defence Development)Keith Tan, Deputy Secretary (Policy)Han Neng Hsiu, Deputy Secretary (Administration)Quek Gim Pew, Chief Defence ScientistDavid Koh, Deputy Secretary (Technology) Annual budget 13.12 billion SGD (2015, actual) | ||
The Ministry of Defence (Abbreviation: MINDEF; Malay: Kementerian Pertahanan; Simplified Chinese: 新加坡国防部; Tamil: தற்காப்பு அமைச்சு) is a ministry of the Government of Singapore entrusted with overseeing the national defence needs of the Republic of Singapore. It is the headquarters of the Singapore Armed Forces. It has a policy of Total Defence which consists of Military Defence, Civil Defence, Economic Defence, Social Defence and Psychological Defence.
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History
The Ministry of Defence, together with the Ministry of Home Affairs was created on 11 August 1970 by splitting up the then-Ministry of Interior and Defence.
Mission
The SAF's declared mission statement is to "enhance Singapore's peace and security through deterrence and diplomacy, and should these fail, to secure a swift and decisive victory over the aggressor."
Defence policy
The aim of MINDEF's defence policy is to ensure that Singapore enjoys peace and stability, and that Singapore's sovereignty and territorial integrity are protected. Hence, diplomacy and deterrence form the twin pillars of defence. MINDEF develops and maintains good relations with other countries through diplomacy. These diplomatic efforts are wide-ranging and span many fields, not just in defence. At the same time, deterrence is presented by contributing to regional resilience and through the concept of Total Defence.
Defending Singapore In The 21st Century states that two key thrusts in the coming years will be to:
As Singapore's neighbouring nations continue to evolve, they recognise the value of efforts to promote confidence-building, co-operation and dialogue on issues of common security concern. MINDEF thus develops extensive links with armed forces in the region and beyond. In addition, the SAF can also aim to help promote greater understanding and trust among regional and extra-regional armed forces by leveraging on these links to help strengthen bilateral and multilateral defence co-operation and dialogue, and participating in confidence-building efforts.
In light of a new security environment, Singapore faces a diverse range of new and unconventional threats. To tackle these challenges, all five tenets of Total Defence will thus be strengthened. The SAF will continue to maintain its conventional capabilities to ensure that the military component of Total Defence remains strong. At the same time, it will work more closely with other government agencies to develop an effective defence against new security challenges, especially the non-traditional threats that may arise.