Quora Answer: How Does Singapore’s Security & Intelligence Division Compare with Other Intelligence Agencies?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “How does Singapore’s intelligence agency, the Security and Intelligence Division, compare with other more well-known intelligence agencies around the world?” 

There is no way to compare them because the nature of an intelligence agency is one of secrecy.  There is no ranking table, no scoring system.  What we can do, however, is to look anecdotally to the state of the nation’s interest, its stability, and its influence to have an idea of whether it is effective.  Admittedly, Singapore has several intelligence agencies, all with different mission profiles. 

What we can say is this.  Singapore survived a major communist insurgency.  Singapore was relatively unscathed during the Konfrontasi.  Singapore was a major centre of espionage activity during the Vietnam War, and its aftermath, with the boat people.  Singapore coordinated the ASEAN response to the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia.  Singapore is south of the Golden Triangle.  Singapore was a major place of dialogue and fund raising during the Sri Lankan Civil War, the independence of Timor Leste, and later on the meeting between the American and North Korean presidents.  In all this, the average Singaporean had no inkling that anything major was happening other that what they read in the news.  That is quiet efficiency. 

When the Americans started their so-called War on Terror, Wahhabi terrorism became a concern in the region.  There was the rise of Al-Qaeda, then ISIS, then Jamaah Islamiyah, and groups such as Abu Sayyaf.  ISIS was even able to field an entire brigade of fighters from Southeast Asia, Katiban Nusantara.  After ISIS were defeated, up to 5,000 such fighters were expected to come back to Southeast Asia.  Not one Singaporean who joined ISIS came back alive.  That is brutal efficiency. 

In an era of increased cyberespionage, Singapore has managed to stay out of news despite being a major financial and shipping centre.  In an era of increasing upheaval due to climate change, our policies have been forward facing.  Singapore has quietly propped up governments around the region, whether it is loaning Indonesia $10 billion after the collapse of their currency, to ending Vietnam’s diplomatic isolation, to brokering Timor Leste’s independence, to advising the Philippines in Mindanao, to sending aid and equipment in the wake of national emergencies to our neighbours.  The alternative is massive people displacement, increased crime, regime change, and war. 

That is what intelligence agencies actually do: identifying threats before they are manifest and neutralising them at the roots.  Very little of this is Hollywood action.  Most of the time, it is not even exciting.  It is reports, logistics, and deployment of assets.  It is engaging in dialogue and gathering information.  It is reading reports, articles, and correspondence.  When do have to send in operators, they go in quietly, do their job, and leave.  No one even knew they were there. 

The result is a Singapore that is safe and secure, confident of its place in the world stage, and influential beyond its size.  The result is racial and religious harmony, a growing economy, peace and prosperity, and a nation that is the envy of the world.  If that is the measure, then our intelligence service is the absolute best in the world.