Prime Minister’s Office (National Security Coordination Secretariat)
Ministry of Home AffairsSpeakers
Summary
This statement concerns the role of the National Security Coordination Secretariat (NSCS) in managing Singapore’s emerging security risks within an increasingly fragmented and volatile global landscape. Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs Mr K Shanmugam highlighted that threats like big power contestation, misinformation, and digital vulnerabilities require a whole-of-government approach to safeguard sovereignty. To address these, the NSCS coordinates inter-agency efforts to identify cross-cutting risks and assess their impact on critical domains such as the economy and social cohesion. The Secretariat also focuses on strengthening the Public Service’s agility and capability through technological advancements, operational coordination, and public communication efforts. Consequently, Singapore remains committed to a proactive and well-coordinated strategy to navigate complex, interdependent security challenges and maintain national stability.
Transcript
The Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs (Mr K Shanmugam): In an increasingly fragmented and dangerous world, Singapore faces growing and new security risks that threaten our national security and sovereignty. Interactions between big power contestation, digital connectivity, economic weaponisation and technological advances will introduce complex risks to our infrastructure, economy, and supply chains. Misinformation and the resultant polarisation of views could deepen societal fault lines and threaten our cohesion and stability.
The National Security Coordination Secretariat (NSCS) adopts a whole-of-Government (WOG) approach to organise inter-agency work to identify, assess and mitigate national security risks spanning different domains.
NSCS works with Government agencies to identify key emerging, cross-cutting security risks, assess the security implications of these risks on various domains as well as on interdependencies across these domains, and develop solutions and coordinate responses to address such risks. For example, rising digital connectivity could result in growing interdependencies across the economic and social domain, and the compromise of digital systems in an economic sector could have security consequences on other sectors. Inter-agency alignment and coordination are therefore critical in mitigating and tackling these complex and interdependent risks.
As Singapore’s risks and vulnerabilities evolve, so must our national security capabilities to deal with them. NSCS supports efforts to strengthen the Public Service’s capability to organise itself to respond to risks in a proactive, agile, and well-coordinated manner. This capability building effort takes a WOG approach, covering not only operational and technological aspects, but also public education and communications.
As we navigate an increasingly volatile and uncertain external environment, Singapore must remain proactive and well-coordinated in tackling cross-cutting and emerging risks to our national security. NSCS will continue to work closely with other Government agencies to achieve this mission.