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The political and military situation in Singapore is stable. The country has very few problems linked to landmines or other explosives on its territory,1 and does not suffer from significant levels of illegal arms and ammunition trafficking.2

The UN Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD) is the only organisation working on the ground to support the through-life management of ammunition, in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence of Singapore. Efforts have included organising regional training sessions for security forces on preventing the diversion of ammunition, developing regional and national mechanisms to regulate weapons and ammunition, raising awareness of the dangers related to the accumulation of surplus ammunition stockpiles and sharing best practices on ammunition management.3


Bertelsmann Stiftung, BTI 2022 Country Report: Singapore (Gütersloh: Bertelsmann Stiftung, 2022), https://bti-project.org/en/reports/country-report/SGP.

Philip Alpers and Michael Picard, Singapore – Gun Facts, Figures and the Law (GunPolicy.org, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney, 2022), https://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/singapore.

“Ammunition Management Activity Platform (A-MAP),” GICHD, 2022, https://a-map.gichd.org.

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Further information

Accidental explosions

Since the Small Arms Survey began collecting data in 1979, one accidental explosion has been reported in Singapore.

Table 1. Accidental explosions in Singapore (1979–2021)

Year Location Owner/manager Deaths Injuries
1992 Singapore State (military) N/A N/A

Source: “Unplanned Explosions at Munitions Sites (UEMS) Database,” Small Arms Survey, updated December 15, 2021, https://smallarmssurvey.org/database/unplanned-explosions-munitions-sites-uems.

Cases of diversion

Several cases of diversion have been reported since 2007 in Singapore.

Table 2. Cases of diversion of arms, ammunition and explosives in Singapore since 2007

Year Location Description

2017

Singapore

A former member of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) stole 50 blank rounds of ammunition following an exercise.

2012

Singapore

A man stole an SR-21 assault rifle from a national serviceman (NSF) at the Pasir Laba Camp.

2007

Singapore

A national serviceman (NSF) stole his SR-21 rifle and several rounds of live ammunition from a military camp.

Source: “Theft of Ammunition 'Very Serious Offence': MINDEF on Ex-Regular Who Kept 50 Blank Rounds,” CNA, August 23, 2019, https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/theft-of-ammunition-serious-offence-mindef-saf-master-sergeant-867506; “Man Robs NSF of Rifle with a Screwdriver,” Yahoo! News, June 20, 2012, https://sg.news.yahoo.com/man-robs-nsf-of-rifle-with-a-screwdriver.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAHvBl9Vw1iUEFzfCL3xz4izvJUaLmPN1eD_Ho3SPO_eWLHjUF0_IVDhY4BEfYfmXHFoCjbDQmXQ3UKUQjUukHZvx9-Lc3bN2DprVRoYTpG-ywWRIaQmn85cTVq-K-rd1B0mytenWBaii5choaEVf_WEPxqx62QQh-YeDqx-EJjz0.

Disposal

Insufficient information on the disposal of ammunition in Singapore.

Needs

No needs have been reported for Singapore.


Source: Singapore, National Report on the Implementation of the Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons (PoA) and the International Tracing Instrument (ITI) (New York: Permanent Mission of Singapore to the UN, 2020), https://unoda-poa.s3.amazonaws.com/reports/PHL-English-1231-SUBMITTED.pdf.

Published Date: Monday 20 of November 2023