Schools and offices are closed, water and electricity supplies are cut off, drone attacks are simulated, food is rationed and toilets are closed. Starting February 15th and running for two weeks, thousands of people will participate in a simulation of the chaos that would be caused by a major attack on the country.
Singapore (AsiaNews/Agency) – Singapore held an island-wide Total Defense (TD) exercise called SG Ready from Thursday for the first time in 40 years, marking the 40th anniversary of the first Total Defense Day.
Operation performed Until February 29thmore than 500 educational institutions, communities, business institutions and government agencies participated in the attack on Singapore by anonymous attackers through a variety of means, including disruption of power, water and food supplies, disinformation campaigns, phishing and drone attacks. We are conducting an exercise to simulate an attack carried out in .
For the government, this is a reminder of what could happen to Singaporeans’ way of life if TD fails, said Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Lawrence Wong also attended the launch of Exercise SG Ready.
The latter explained in a video message that TDs have kept Singapore safe and guided the people through many challenges, including terrorism, the financial crisis and the pandemic.
“We overcame these challenges and came out stronger because we worked together, stayed united and each did our part,” he said.
But now, “we must also contend with new threats, including more sophisticated cyber-attacks and hostile information campaigns, as well as the growing impacts of climate change.”
Total Defense Day is February 15th, the day British troops stationed in Singapore surrendered to the Japanese in 1942 during World War II.
Minister Ng referred to the current tense times in the world, including war in Europe, the Israeli-Hamas conflict in the Middle East, and the possibility of a war between the United States and China in Asia.
He noted that some countries in Europe have realized that they have forgotten that self-defense cannot be used when it is most needed. “Of course, this was after Russia invaded Ukraine.”
Examples like this should teach Singapore to be grateful for how past and present generations have continued to uphold Total Defense to this day, he added.
Comprehensive defense, comprising military, civilian, economic, social, digital and psychological defense, requires a collective and continuous effort from all Singaporeans, in good times and bad.
“If we do that, Singapore can remain independent, strong and secure,” Mr Ng said. “What happened on February 15, 1942, when our country surrendered, will never happen again.”
Bain & Company Southeast Asia Drilla power outage and water outage simulation was conducted at the South Beach Tower office.
The company had previously engaged in a phishing campaign in which suspicious emails were sent to employees. Of the 270 employees who unknowingly opened the email, 30 percent reported it and 13 percent became victims.
Photo: Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen at the start of the exercise on 15 February.