Singapore, shippers raise security over Malacca threat

Singapore raised alert levels on Friday in the Asian financial centre and beefed up security at its airport and new casinos after a warning by its navy of possible attacks on oil tankers in a key shipping lane.                                           

Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia have already stepped up sea patrols in the Strait of Malacca after Singapore's navy said on Thursday it had received indications a terrorist group was planning attacks on oil tankers.                                           

"We received intelligence from our liaison partners about this possible plot to go and attack vessels coming through Singapore waters through the Strait of Malacca," Singapore's home affairs minister Wong Kan Seng told parliament.                                           

"We should not be in denial. The threat is real and we are not immune from it ... we must recognise that no security system can be completely foolproof," Wong said in the Singapore government's first comments on the threat.                                     

He said Singapore had hardened security, including at new casino resorts owned by Genting Singapore and Las Vegas Sands, developments the government hopes will boost tourism significantly.                                           

Any attack could have a disproportionate effect on the global economy as well as on Singapore because the nearby and narrow Malacca waterway carries about 40 percent of world trade.                                           

Singapore is home to the world's top container shipping port and is favoured by many multinationals as a base, from Citigroup to GlaxoSmithKline and ExxonMobil.                                             

Wong did not give any indication of who the threat was from but militants have long had Singapore in their sights.                     

He said the recent capture or death of militant leaders in Indonesia had not discouraged recruits from terrorist acts.