The Ministry of Defence (MINDEF; ms, Kementerian Pertahanan; zh, 新加坡国防部; ta, தற்காப்பு அமைச்சு) is a

ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

of the Government of Singapore responsible for overseeing the national defence of

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

History

MINDEF, together with the

Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

, was created on 11 August 1970 by splitting up the then

Ministry of Interior and Defence Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

Responsibilities

MINDEF's mission is to "enhance Singapore's peace and security through deterrence and diplomacy, and should these fail, to secure a swift and decisive victory over the aggressor." It has a policy of ''

Total Defence Total defence is a defence policy combining and extending the concept of military defence and civil defence. It has been adopted by several countries: for example Austria, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Russia, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, ...

'' which consists of Military Defence, Civil Defence, Economic Defence, Social Defence, Psychological Defence and Digital Defence involving the people, public and private sectors of the country.

Organisational structure

MINDEF oversees a single statutory board, the Defence Science and Technology Agency. The

Singapore Armed Forces The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are the military services of the Republic of Singapore, responsible for protecting and defending the security interests and the sovereignty of the country. A military component of the Ministry of Defence (MIND ...

, which is in charge of the

Republic of Singapore Air Force The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) is the aerial service branch of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) responsible for controlling and defending the airspace of the country, and providing air support to the Army and Navy. It was establi ...

(RSAF), the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and the Singapore Army is a military component of the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF).

Statutory boards

* Defence Science and Technology Agency

Ministers

The Ministry is headed by the Minister for Defence, who is appointed as part of the

Cabinet of Singapore The Cabinet of Singapore forms the executive branch of the Government of Singapore together with the President. It is led by the Prime Minister who is the head of government. The prime minister is a Member of Parliament (MP) appointed by the ...

. The incumbent minister is Ng Eng Hen from the

People's Action Party The People's Action Party (abbreviation: PAP) is a major conservative centre-right political party in Singapore and is one of the three contemporary political parties represented in Parliament, alongside the opposition Workers' Party (WP) and ...

References

External links

Official websiteSingapore Government Directory Interactive — Ministry of Defence
*https://www.mindef.gov.sg/oms/dam/publications/ebooks/more_ebooks/ds21.pdf {{DEFAULTSORT:Ministry Of Defence (Singapore) Military of Singapore Defence, Ministry of

Ministries established in 1970 1970 establishments in Singapore