Disarmament

Conventional Weapons

Singapore firmly holds the view that States must work towards the eradication of the illicit arms trade as a collective effort, given that the illicit arms trade is a transnational issue that undermines international and regional peace and security. Singapore has signed the Arms Trade Treaty and is a High Contracting Party to the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), which regulates weapons deemed to be excessively injurious or to have indiscriminate effects. Beyond these treaties, we have consistently contributed to international efforts to combat the illicit trade in arms, such as the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat, and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons and its International Tracing Instrument. We are also committed to promoting arms transparency through regular submissions to the UN Register of Conventional Arms (UNROCA).

At the same time, we believe that the interests of States in the legitimate international trade in conventional arms cannot be disregarded. Every State has the sovereign right to acquire conventional arms to exercise its right to self-defence. We must therefore strike a balance between fulfilling our international obligations and not impeding the legitimate international trade in conventional arms.

As a global transit and transhipment hub, Singapore also recognises the role we play in the regulation of the international arms trade. We have in place a robust export controls regime to combat the illicit arms trade, underpinned by the Guns, Explosives and Weapons Control Act, Regulation of Imports and Exports Act, and the Strategic Goods (Control) Act. Singapore also complies with all UN Security Council arms embargoes to prevent the transfer of arms to unauthorised users.  

Weapons of Mass Destruction

Singapore supports disarmament and the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. We view progress in nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation in all its aspects as essential to strengthening international peace and security. Efforts toward nuclear disarmament, global and regional non-proliferation initiatives, and confidence building measures complement one another and should, as far as possible, be pursued simultaneously to promote peace and security.

Effective non-proliferation efforts require global and regional cooperation. Singapore participates actively in various fora, such as the UN, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and ASEAN, and in initiatives such as the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), the European Union’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Centre of Excellence (CoE), the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT). Singapore was also the first country in Southeast Asia to put in place a stringent export controls system to regulate the transfer of strategic goods and safeguard against the illicit movement of goods and technology that relate to the development, production and use of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, missiles capable of delivering such weapons, as well as conventional arms and military equipment.

Singapore also subscribes to effective implementation and rigorous national legislation and standards, which are regularly reviewed. We are party to the following international disarmament and non-proliferation treaties:

• Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons;

• Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty;

• Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction;

• Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction;

• International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (ICSANT);

• Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone; and

• Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and its 2005 Amendment.

Emerging Technologies in the Military Domain

Singapore is committed to the responsible development and use of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), in the military domain. AI has the potential to bring about benefits in the military domain in terms of enhancing precision and situational awareness, and consequently reducing collateral harm to civilians and/or civilian objects. However, AI can also pose risks of conflict escalation and miscalculation in the absence of appropriate governance frameworks. Singapore has developed the following national principles on AI in the military domain, which have informed Singapore’s governance approach to the development, testing, training and deployment of AI-enabled systems for military purposes:

• Responsible. First, the risk of emergent AI behaviour must be addressed. AI systems must have well-defined intended uses, and both developers and users are responsible for the outcomes of AI systems.

• Reliable. Second, the risk of errors or inaccuracies in an AI system’s output must be addressed. AI systems should be tested and assured to a level appropriate for their intended use. They should be designed to minimise unintended bias and produce consistent outputs.

• Robust. Third, the risks from the exploitation of AI by malicious actors must be addressed. AI systems should be designed with cyber and adversarial AI threats in mind. In order to address the “black box effect”, their development process should be well-documented to support explainability.

• Safe. Fourth, we must focus on the risk of AI failure in safety-critical contexts. AI systems should be safe to use, not only in terms of the deployed platforms, but also the surrounding assets and personnel.

Singapore believes it is important for the international community to engage multilaterally to achieve substantive outcomes on the governance of AI in the military domain. For instance, Singapore co-hosted the 2^nd Responsible AI in the Military Domain (REAIM) Summit and the inaugural REAIM Regional Consultations for Asia in 2024, which had facilitated discussions on challenges associated with the use of AI in the military domain and how to overcome them responsibly.

Given the rapid advancement of autonomy in weapons systems, Singapore believes it is also important to continue discussing the governance of lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS) in a multilateral setting. This is why we have actively participated in the UN Group of Governmental Experts on LAWS, which we believe is the most appropriate forum to discuss the governance of LAWS as it involves an inclusive representation of legal, military, and technological experts. We will continue to contribute constructively to the UN GGE on LAWS, and hope that States will achieve alignment on the elements of an instrument to govern LAWS. Singapore affirms the principle that international humanitarian law applies to the use of LAWS, and is committed to the continued codification and progressive development of the rules of international law applicable in armed conflict.