It was probably the year 2002 that convinced Singapore that water should be placed high on its list of strategic priorities. In the first place, the immediate consequences of 11 September 2001 only strengthened the reflexes and the security traditions of this city state. As drinking water supplies became possible targets of terrorist attacks, the Singaporean authorities took all necessary measures to protect their critical infrastructure, and to draw up survival and crisis-management plans—just in case.

It could well have happened in Singapore: recent history has revealed that Mas Selamat Kastari, the local leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, planned to attack the city’s fresh water system. It is significant that his plan involved the main trunk pipeline bringing fresh water from neighbouring Malaysia. The terrorists were planning to strike this precise point of vulnerability, together with the international airport, the Ministry of Defence, the offices of the United States Navy and Jurong Island. Singapore has no natural fresh water rivers or lakes, and has a strategic dependency on fresh water supplies from Malaysia.

Relations with Malaysia

Singapore’s relationship with its neighbour is a complicated one, water frequently proving to be a source of discord between the two states. On 7 October 2002, Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad put an end to discussions which had started in 1998 on a ‘global package’ of negotiations; these concerned mainly the price of water deliveries to Singapore beyond 2011 and 2061, and the use of Malaysian airspace by the Singapore Air Force. His declaration was final: ‘Malaysia has decided to discontinue the package approach and to give the highest priority to first resolving the long-delayed water issue, particularly the price review of raw water.’