ANTI-PERSONNEL LAND MINES

Mr Simon S C Tay asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs whether Singapore is actively considering acceptance of the recent international treaty to outlaw anti-personnel land mines and, if so, when it is likely to accede to the obligations of the treaty, and, if not, what are the reasons for not doing so.

Prof S Jayakumar: Singapore shares the humanitarian concerns of the international community on the anti-personnel land mines (APLs) issue. We support efforts to find a lasting and effective solution to the problem. It is for this reason that in May 1996, Singapore announced a two-year export moratorium on APLs without self-neutralising or self-destructing devices. It was intended that this two-year moratorium period be used to review Singapore's position on APLs and to consider whether or not Singapore was in a position to sign the Ottawa Treaty. (This is the "Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpile, Production and Transfer of APLs and on Their Destruction" which was opened for signature in December last year).

We are still studying the provisions of the Ottawa Treaty carefully, to see whether we can accede to it. We will consider signing the Treaty when we are certain that we can fully comply with all its provisions and obligations, taking into account our own defence and security needs. In the meanwhile, we have extended our two-year moratorium indefinitely to cover a ban on the export of all types of APLs, not just those without self-neutralising or self-destructing devices.