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United States and Singapore
Governments Launch Effort to Detect Terrorist Shipments of Nuclear
Material |
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The United States and Singapore Governments on
March 10 signed a Declaration of Principles to deploy state-of-the-art
equipment at the Port of Singapore to detect hidden shipments of nuclear and
other radioactive material. This agreement will further strengthen their work
together in the war on terrorism. |
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United States Ambassador to Singapore Franklin L.
Lavin signed the cooperative agreement on behalf of the U.S. Department of
Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), together with
Singapore's Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) Commissioner Lock Wai
Han. |
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"The United States and Singapore both recognize
the need to remain vigilant against the threat posed by the trafficking of
nuclear and other radioactive materials," said Ambassador Lavin. "The
agreement we sign today is another example of the excellent cooperation in the
overall relationship between the United States and Singapore, and will further
our mutual international non-proliferation and anti-terrorist efforts." |
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Commissioner Lock Wai Han said, "Singapore's
participation in the initiative demonstrates our commitmnt in safeguarding
maritime security and the global trading system. Being an international
maritime hub, Singapore views the enhancement of homeland and container
security as an important response to the threats posed by terrorism." |
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The U.S.-Singapore agreement falls under the
Department of Energy's (DOE) NNSA Megaports Initiative, which is designed to
work with foreign governments to deter, detect and interdict illegal shipments
of nuclear weapons materials. |
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Singapore will be the first country in Southeast
Asia to use this type of detection system in cooperation with the United
States. The specialized radiation detection technology was developed by DOE
laboratories as part of overall U.S. nuclear security efforts to guard against
the proliferation of nuclear weapons material. |
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The Megaports Initiative complements the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security's Container Security Initiative (CSI), in
which U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers team up with their
counterparts at major shipping ports to help prevent terrorists from
exploiting global containerized cargo bound for the United States. |
EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA SINGAPORE
IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY, SINGAPORE
10 MARCH 2005 |
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Source:
Immigration & Checkpoints Authority News
Release 10 Mar 2005 |
Equipment to detect terrorist shipments of nuclear material
