What Other Threats Did Singapore Face?

Konfrontasi ended in 1966, but Singapore had become independent as the intensified across Southeast Asia. These notes explain three further threats: at home, fears that the Vietnam War would spread communism through the region, and international terrorism, which struck Singapore directly in the Laju incident of 1974.

A Time of Tension

The Cold War: the worldwide rivalry between communist and non-communist countries.
Rising tension: by the 1960s it had intensified, threatening stability across parts of Southeast Asia.
Close to home: the government feared that regional tensions would compound Singapore's own security problems.
The Cultural Revolution: upheaval in communist China from 1966 heightened fears of communist subversion, so Singapore confiscated communist literature to limit its influence.

What Other Threats Did Singapore Face?

Problem 1: Communist Terrorism

PointCommunist terrorism remained a threat to Singapore's internal security after independence.
EvidenceAlthough the Emergency was declared over in 1960, communist groups continued to carry out attacks. By the 1970s the Malayan Communist Party had split into smaller groups, yet police raids still found pistols and grenades. A young girl was killed in Changi in 1970, a bomb exploded in Katong in 1974, and in 1976 there was an attempt to kill the Commissioner of Police.
ElaborationEven divided, these groups kept their weapons and their will to strike, so they could undermine public confidence and the stability the government needed to attract investment.
LinkHence, the threat from within meant Singapore had to strengthen its internal security as well as its defences.

Problem 2: The Vietnam War

PointThe Vietnam War threatened Singapore because it raised fears that communism would spread across Southeast Asia.
EvidenceIn 1954 Vietnam was split into communist North Vietnam and non-communist South Vietnam, each seeking to reunite the country. The United States and non-communist Asian countries feared that a victory for the North would spread communism to neighbouring states, so the United States poured in troops to support the South. The war ended only in 1975, when South Vietnam fell.
ElaborationIf neighbouring states fell to communism one by one, a newly independent Singapore with little defence would be exposed to the instability that followed. Singapore therefore stayed out of the fighting but watched the conflict with deep concern.
LinkThus, the Vietnam War added to the regional dangers that made security Singapore's first priority.

Problem 3: International Terrorism

PointInternational terrorism showed that distant conflicts could strike Singapore directly.
EvidenceOn 31 January 1974, terrorists from the Japanese Red Army and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine attacked the Shell refinery on Pulau Bukom, seeking to disrupt oil supplies to South Vietnam. They then hijacked the ferry Laju and held its crew , until talks secured the hostages' release in exchange for to Kuwait.
ElaborationBecause Singapore was a major oil-refining and shipping centre, foreign militants could target it to strike at their enemies, so a war hundreds of kilometres away endangered lives in Singapore's own harbour. Careful negotiation ended the crisis without loss of life.
LinkTherefore, international terrorism added a new kind of threat that Singapore had to be prepared to handle.

Vietnam: How the War Came About

Vietnam became a French colony in the 1800s and was occupied by Japan during World War II.
After Japan's surrender in 1945, a communist movement fought against the return of French rule.
A peace agreement in 1954 split the country into communist North Vietnam and non-communist South Vietnam; the French left in 1956.
Both governments sought to reunite the country under their own rule, so the fighting continued as the Vietnam War.
Communist movements in Malaya, the Philippines and Laos in the 1950s and 1960s deepened fears that communism would spread.

The Laju Team

A propeller airliner with boarding steps on an airport apron at dusk, with a control tower behind it — An airport in the 1970s. Illustration drawn for Our Study Tribe.

Its leader: S. R. Nathan, then Director of the Security and Intelligence Division at the Ministry of Defence, who later became President.
Its members: 13 Singaporeans in all, including eight government officials and four SAF commandos.
Its purpose: they flew with the hijackers to Kuwait to guarantee that the deal for safe passage was honoured.
The outcome: the team returned safely on 9 February 1974, having resolved the crisis without loss of life.

In One Sentence

As the Cold War intensified, Singapore faced communist terrorism at home, fears that the Vietnam War would spread communism through the region, and international terrorism in the Laju incident.

Think About It

Which of the three problems do you think was the biggest danger to Singapore, and why: the one inside the country, the one in the region, or the one from far away?
The Laju crisis ended through negotiation, not force. What are the advantages and risks of making a deal with hijackers?
The Vietnam War was hundreds of kilometres away. Why would a war in another country worry Singapore's government so much?