Latest news with #SAF
Leaders
27 minutes ago
- Politics
- Leaders
Sudan's SAF Accepts UN Humanitarian Ceasefire Proposal in El-Fasher
The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) has agreed to a weeklong ceasefire in El-Fasher besieged city to facilitate humanitarian aid distribution. The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, proposed the ceasefire during a phone call with the Chairman of Sudan's Transitional Sovereign Council and the Commander-in-Chief of SAF, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan. 7-Day Truce in El-Fasher On Friday, the Sudanese Transitional Sovereign Council said that Al-Burhan received a phone call from Guterres, during which the UN chief proposed a humanitarian pause in fighting for seven days in El-Fahser, the capital of North Darfur province, to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid. In response, Al-Burhan agreed to the 7-day truce proposal, stressing the urgency of implementing the UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions in that regard. UN Efforts The UN Secretary-General said that he was in contacts with the two warring parties to alleviate the suffering of Sudanese people in El-Fahser, which the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has been besieging for more than a year. 'We are making contacts with both sides with that objective, and that was the fundamental reason for that phone contact. We have a dramatic situation in El-Fasher,' Guterres told reporters on Friday. 'The people are starving in an extremely difficult situation, so we need to have an amount of time of truce for aid to be distributed, and you need to have it agreed with some days in advance to prepare a massive delivery in the El-Fasher,' he added. 'I have a positive answer from General Burhan, and I am hopeful that both sides will understand how vital it is to avoid the catastrophe that we are witnessing in El-Fasher,' the UN chief said. Guterres did not reveal the details of the ceasefire and when it might go into effect. Meanwhile, the RSF said it had not received any truce proposals, according to AFP. Situation in El-Fasher The civil war in Sudan, which broke out in April 2023, has split the country in two, with the SAF controlling the center, north and east, and the RSF holding almost all of the western Darfur region and parts of the south. In March 2025, the SAF regained control over most parts of the Sudanese capital Khartoum, in a significant victory for the country's army after two years of fighting against the RSF. The SAF maintains control of El-Fasher, located more than 800 kilometers southwest of Khartoum. The RSF has intensified its attacks on El-Fasher – the only state capital in Darfur the paramilitary group does not control – to capture the city to solidify its control over the entire Darfur region, according to the Associated Press (AP). This included besieging El-Fasher and launching repeated attacks on the city and two major famine-hit displacement camps on its outskirts, the Zamzam and Abu Shouk displacement camps, killing more than 100 people, including 20 children. Worsening Humanitarian Crisis The UN described the war in Sudan as 'the world's most devastating humanitarian and displacement crisis,' killing tens of thousands of people and displacing millions inside Sudan and to neighboring countries. It has displaced more than 14 million people and pushed parts of the country into famine, according to AP. The UN Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, stressed that 'de-escalation is urgently needed' in Sudan, suggesting that humanitarian pauses could extend to other regions in the country. 'We are pursuing a predictable and time-bound humanitarian pause to facilitate safe humanitarian movements into and out of areas affected by ongoing fighting, beginning with El-Fasher, and allow civilians to leave voluntarily and securely,' she told the UNSC on Friday. Similarly, Sudan Specialist and Senior Advisor with Preventing and Ending Mass Atrocities (PAEMA), a US-based organization, Shayna Lewis, briefed the UNSC on the worsening humanitarian situation following her recent return from Sudan. She pointed to more than 15 million children in need of assistance due to ongoing attacks on civilians, saying that up to 80% of health facilities in conflict areas are no longer functioning. Short link :
Malay Mail
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Malay Mail
‘We're not at war, but not at peace either': Singapore defence minister warns of becoming ‘collateral' amid rising global conflicts
SINGAPORE, June 28 – Singapore must heighten vigilance across various fronts due to escalating global conflicts that could see it becoming 'collateral in other people's fight', its Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing said this week. Speaking to Singaporean reporters earlier this week, Chan said the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) is continuously dealing with a wide spectrum of threats across its four service branches, as the country navigates a state that is neither conventional war nor peace. 'Today, we are not at war in the conventional sense, neither are we at peace in the conventional sense,' he was quoted saying by The Straits Times. 'We are always operating somewhere in between, with different gradations. And that's what keeps us on our toes.' The interview was held at the Ministry of Defence headquarters ahead of SAF Day on July 1, amid global security concerns stemming from rising tensions in the Middle East. Chan referenced the Iran-Israel conflict and the United States strikes on Iran's nuclear sites, cautioning that retaliatory actions could have broader implications beyond the key players involved. 'It could be anywhere else,' he said, warning that such developments might inflame regional sentiments and risk fuelling terrorism. He stressed that Singapore's defence posture must adapt to an evolving landscape where threats increasingly emerge from cyberspace and other non-traditional domains. Chan highlighted persistent cyber threats, with the Digital and Intelligence Service and other agencies fending off thousands of intrusion attempts daily, many of which are likely deliberate and malicious. Protecting Singapore's cyber domain is a round-the-clock effort, Chan added, warning that breaches could disrupt the power grid, financial systems and water supply, beyond compromising sensitive information or national reputation. Chan also noted daily attempts to influence public opinion in Singapore through information operations, warning of both direct and indirect efforts to sway national sentiment. 'The type of information operations that people conduct, perhaps directly on us and sometimes indirectly on us, where we are the collateral, is also not something that we will take lightly,' he said. The SAF also faces frequent incursions into its airspace and waters, with the air force responding to hundreds of suspicious cases annually, and the navy conducting extensive vessel checks in the busy Singapore Strait. 'The number of ships that sail through the narrow Singapore Strait, the number of boardings that we have to [do to] check and verify to make sure that the strait remains safe from threat actors, that goes into the hundreds as well and, in fact, sometimes the thousands,' he said.
Straits Times
6 hours ago
- General
- Straits Times
Commandos are Best Combat Unit for the 39th time
(From left) LTA Seah Zhang Qi; 2SG T Naveen, commando leader; LTC Kok Yi Long, commanding officer; and CFC Akmal Danial Rashiddin Abdul Latif, a commando fighter, from the 1st Commando Battalion, pictured on June 24. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG Commandos are Best Combat Unit for the 39th time SINGAPORE – The 1st Commando Battalion is the Best Combat Unit in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) again, and it has no intention of slowing down. In a statement from the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) on June 28 announcing the win, the unit's commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Kok Yi Long, said: 'The standard is high, and that is exactly where we intend to keep it.' Winning 22 times in a row did not happen by chance, he said. He said: 'It happened because every commando believed in the mission, pushed beyond limits in a calculated manner, and refused to settle for less. 'It is about a culture built over time, sustained by teamwork, discipline, and an unyielding commitment to excellence.' The unit does not strive for awards but to be better and ready to defend Singapore, he added. The special forces unit, which wears the distinctive red berets, is trained for various missions including airborne operations, reconnaissance and raids. In all, this is their 39th win since the competition was introduced in 1969. On July 1, the SAF will honour its best units with President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Defence Minister Mr Chan Chun Sing presenting the awards to the winners at the SAF Day Parade at the SAFTI Military Institute. A total of 18 active units and 12 National Service (NS) units across the SAF are being recognised for their achievements. Awards include Best Combat Support Unit – won by the 17th Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence Battalion, and the Best Air Engineering Unit, won by 811 Squadron . Some NS units that will be honoured include the 114th Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence Battalion which is the Best NS C4I Unit and 489th Battalion, Singapore Armoured Regiment, the Best NS Armour Unit. This year's Best Fighter Squadron is 142 Squadron, for the second consecutive time. It is the unit's fourth win since it was founded in 1974. The squadron conducts a wide spectrum of missions and notably, was the one that responded to a bomb threat on Air India Express flight AXB684 in October 2024, said Mindef. Then, two F-15SG fighter jets intercepted and escorted the flight to a safe landing at Changi Airport . No bomb was found on board. The squadron's commanding officer, Major Muhammad Iskandar, said the win was a testament to the hard work, dedication, and team spirit of each of its members. He said: 'Celebrating our win on SG60, a significant milestone in our journey as a nation, makes the award even more meaningful for us. '142 Squadron stands ready to face an increasingly unpredictable world, staying committed to excellence, anchored in purpose, and taking full ownership of our mission to defend Singapore.' Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
New Paper
9 hours ago
- Politics
- New Paper
Father and son to lead NDP 2025 mobile column to celebrate commitment to defence across generations
The 2025 National Day Parade (NDP) marks several firsts for Lieutenant-Colonel (NS) Alex Chan. He has participated in previous parades in a back-end capacity, overseeing security matters, but he will now be front and centre - as the commander of the mobile column. The mobile column serves as a showcase of the Republic's military and civil defence assets. For NDP 2025, 170 assets from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Home Team and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) will be on display, along with more than 800 people from participating agencies. NDP 2025 will also see LTC Chan, who is chief of staff for the SAF's 8th Singapore Armoured Brigade, participate in the parade for the first time with his son, 10-year-old Keith Chan. The pair will be leading the mobile column in a Leopard 2SG main battle tank. "It's definitely an honour to participate this year, especially together with my son," said LTC Chan, 48, whose day job involves him overseeing back-end support at Alexandra Hospital. Keith, a pupil at St Anthony's Primary School, said he was "super excited" to be taking part in the parade with his father as well as to have the opportunity to see the different vehicles up close. The pair's participation is in line with one of the mobile column's four thematic segments for 2025, titled From Generation To Generation, which emphasises the continued strengthening of Singapore through generational commitment to defence. The mobile column will feature stories of men and women from the SAF and Home Team across generations, said Major Teo Wei Kok, chairman of the NDP 2025 mobile column, noting that veterans would also be appearing. Major Teo Wei Kok said that the mobile column will feature stories from across generations. ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO "We want to honour the sacrifice and contributions of past and current servicemen and women, while inspiring future generations to take up the mantle and continue building upon the strong foundations of Singapore's defence and security forces," he added. Among those participating with their family is Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Stella Tay, who will appear in a video featurette during the mobile column with her 11-year-old daughter, Shermaine Goh, and her son, Edward Goh, nine. Deputy Superintendent of Police Stella Tay will appear in a video featurette together with her son Edward Goh and daughter Shermaine Goh. ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO "It's a very rare chance to be able to bring the children to work so that they experience what I do," said DSP Tay, 38, who is with the Singapore Police Force's Public Transport Security Command. "I hope that I can be a good role model to them," she added. With his father also part of the police force, Edward aspires to follow in both his parents' footsteps to become a police officer. DSP Tay said she just wishes for her children to have a positive impact on others, whatever their careers. "Whatever they want to be, just contribute back to society," she said. The mobile column's other thematic segments highlight the SAF's capabilities to protect Singapore and the coordinated defence capabilities of the SAF and Home Team, as well as their contributions to global security and ability to conduct a wide spectrum of operations. MAJ Teo noted that 2025 marks the 18th mobile column - the mobile column first appeared in the 1969 NDP and is typically held during milestone years, with the previous iteration held in 2019 to mark Singapore's bicentennial celebrations. Singapore commemorates 60 years of independence in 2025, as well as the 60th anniversary of the SAF. For the first time, the mobile column will include air and maritime elements, in addition to the drive-past along St Andrew's Road. "We will see an aerial fly-past, and at Marina Bay we'll see a maritime display with vessels from the navy, the Home Team as well as the Maritime and Port Authority," said MAJ Teo. While the mobile column has typically showcased the army and Home Team's vehicles and artillery, the MPA is included as it is an important partner in ensuring the Republic's maritime security, he added. MAJ Teo also recognised some 200 people who work behind the scenes to support operations for the mobile column, such as road marshals and the logistics team. "Without them working tirelessly behind the scenes, there will be no mobile column," he said. Assets appearing in the mobile column for the first time include the army's Hunter Armoured Engineer Vehicle and TPQ-53 Weapon Locating Radar, the navy's Combatant Craft Underwater, the police's Tactical Strike Vehicle, and the Singapore Civil Defence Force's second-generation Medical Support Vehicle. Selected vehicles will also enter the Padang show stage during the drive-past, giving spectators a closer look at these vehicles. On Aug 10, some of these assets will travel from the city centre along five routes to various heartland celebration sites to give more people a chance to see them up close. Details of the routes and heartland sites will be released at a later date.
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘We are not at war, but neither are we at peace': Chan Chun Sing
SINGAPORE – Singapore has to raise its vigilance in various places given the conflicts around the world, as it is unclear if it could become 'collateral in other people's fight', said Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing. He noted that the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) is dealing with a range of threats and challenges daily across all four of its services. 'Today, we are not at war in the conventional sense, neither are we at peace in the conventional sense,' he told reporters in an interview on June 25. 'We are always operating somewhere in between, with different gradations. And that's what keeps us on our toes.' Mr Chan cited how the Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS) and other government agencies deal with thousands of attempts to penetrate Singapore's cyber systems every day, without naming those behind these attacks. 'Sometimes it could be just people fooling around, but often, I think people are doing this very intentionally and probably with malicious intent,' he said. It is a round-the-clock operation to protect Singapore's cyber domain, he added, noting that a breach could mean not just a hit to the country's reputation or the loss of some classified information, but real consequences for its power grid and financial and water systems. There are also constant efforts to secure Singapore's airspace and territorial waters. Mr Chan said the air force responds to hundreds of cases every year, some requiring air defence assets to be scrambled to verify unknown threats. 'For the navy, it is the same thing,' said Mr Chan, who was chief of army before entering politics. 'The number of ships that sail through the narrow Singapore Strait, the number of boardings that we have to (do to) check and verify to make sure that the strait remains safe from threat actors, that goes into the hundreds as well and, in fact, sometimes the thousands.' In the information sphere, people are constantly trying to shape how Singaporeans think – another threat the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) counters daily, he said. 'The type of information operations that people conduct, perhaps directly on us and sometimes indirectly on us, where we are the collateral, is also not something that we will take lightly.' Mr Chan spoke to the media at Mindef's headquarters in Bukit Gombak ahead of SAF Day on July 1, amid rising global tensions fuelled by escalating conflict in the Middle East. Addressing the conflict between Iran and Israel, which also involved the US bombing Iran's nuclear facilities, he said retaliation from Iran may not be limited to targets in America or Israel. 'It could be anywhere else,' Mr Chan said, adding: 'It could also stoke up emotions in the region, and we must be careful that these do not spill into terrorist activities.' There are greater security concerns because of these conflicts, he said, noting that the threats now go beyond conventional terrorism and extend into new areas such as cyberspace. Similarly, the nature of threats that Singapore faces has changed, Mr Chan said. While some technologies, such as computer viruses and drones, are not new, the way and intensity in which they are applied have evolved, he said. The lines between military and civilian use of these technologies have also blurred, he added. Moving forward, security operations will be more decentralised, with troops operating in smaller units, he noted. This plays into the SAF's strengths, Mr Chan said. The SAF has never relied on the size of its troops since 1965, but on technology as a force multiplier, he noted. 'If anything, going forward, the new generations of technology that is coming in across the world will allow the SAF to multiply its manpower capabilities even more.' Another strength is the quality of manpower and leadership it has, he said. Mr Chan said some believe that having full-time national servicemen (NSFs) or national servicemen (NSmen) is a disadvantage for the SAF. 'We never think so, because by having NSF and NSmen, we are able to have the best across society operating our systems, participating in the design of our systems.' This is why the SAF can operate with more decentralisation, he added. There will be more leadership opportunities for these groups going forward, he said, noting that this does not just refer to an increase in the number of soldiers attending SAF leadership schools, he said. It also means more leadership at different levels and more of such opportunities for many NSFs, he said. Mr Chan gave an example from the DIS, the SAF's newest service, where soldiers operate in groups as small as three or five, compared with traditional army companies that can have around 100 men. 'Each and every one of them must be able to take (on) leadership because of the technology that they are using and applying.' Going forward, the SAF will continue to spend prudently and in areas that will 'give us bang for (our) buck', Mr Chan said. It will not simply target a certain amount of expenditure but ensure that spending is sustainable because building new capacities takes many years, he said. 'What we don't want is what we call the 'feast and famine' kind of spending, where you buy a lot of things when you have money, and then you find that you can't maintain it,' he added. 'That's not how we stretch the defence dollar.' Over the last few years, defence spending has hovered around 3 per cent of Singapore's gross domestic product (GDP), Mr Chan noted. This does not include security spending outside Mindef, such as on the Home Team and cyber security. The minister was answering a question on whether Singapore's current spending is sufficient given the global security situation. There have been calls in the region for an increase in defence spending. At the Shangri-La Dialogue in May, US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth asked American allies in the Indo-Pacific to raise their defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP. Mr Chan said the SAF has been fortunate to have the public and political support to spend up to 6 per cent of GDP. There will be areas that will require more spending because of the new nature of warfare, he added. 'Today there are also new opportunities for us to look at other low-cost options to complement what we have and what we need,' he said. 'We will continue on that trajectory.' On adopting new technology, Mr Chan said the SAF is constantly looking at emerging tech such as artificial intelligence, but does not want to be caught up in fads. 'We've been looking at many of these technologies for many years. We want to be able to apply them to what we call 'tangible use cases',' he said. 'So, it's not applying things in general, but very specifically how it helps us.' While the SAF constantly tracks changes to warfare, such as the increased use of drones and cyber attacks, its challenge is to predict what new threats will emerge in the future, Mr Chan said. This is so that the SAF can put in place programmes to develop capabilities to counter these threats even before they emerge and be able to deal with them by the time they do. He made the point that the SAF does not build new capabilities just because there is a new defence minister. After a recent Cabinet reshuffle, Mr Chan took over the portfolio from Dr Ng Eng Hen, who was defence minister from 2011 to 2025 and retired ahead of the 2025 General Election. 'Many of the capabilities that the SAF has today are built up through the generations,' he said, including those that were mooted during or before his stint as chief of army from 2010 to 2011. That is why many SAF projects are classified, so the force remains ahead of the curve, he said. 'We don't always publicise all that we do, but at the appropriate time, we will reveal those capabilities to let Singaporeans have the confidence that we are ready,' he said. 'And there'll be many capabilities in the SAF which we will never reveal. The fact that we don't have to reveal them, we don't have to use them by the time they get retired – to us, that is success.' Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction Discover how to enjoy other premium articles here
