SINGAPORE, June 30 — On a visit last December to the Combined Joint Task Force Headquarters in Kuwait, the heart of the international coalition against terror group Islamic State (IS), Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen grew "dismayed” when the commanders there spoke of how successful their campaign had been in Iraq and Syria.

 "The more successful they tried to point out their campaign was (against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), they could see the more dismayed I became,” Dr Ng said in an interview with the press earlier this week. "I had to tell them that… from my perspective, the problem will now come to Asean (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations).”

Indeed, terrorism is now "endemic in our backyard”, a problem that has been brewing from about three years ago, Dr Ng said.

As reports surfaced of IS emerging, the assessment was that it would pose a different type of threat from al-Qaeda, but "no less” frequent or potentially damaging.

Citing the ongoing crisis at Marawi in the Philippines as another indication that terrorism is rooted in this part of the world, Dr Ng said that there are now "magnets” drawing terrorists to the region to set up IS-like caliphates (or jurisdictions).

As in countries elsewhere, the predisposing factors — including ideology, money and supply chains — exist in the region. 

With the weeks-long battle in Marawi between Islamic militants and security forces not abating, neighbouring countries have become concerned that IS — which is losing ground in Iraq and Syria — is attempting to establish a stronghold there.

Not only did the disruption of terrorist camps in Marawi turn up large sums of money, fighters recruited from countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia, and those outside Asean, were also discovered. "(There was) even a Singaporean that we’ve been monitoring who was involved as (a) foreign fighter,” Dr Ng said, referring to Muhamad Ali Abdul Rahiman, alias Muawiya, who has been implicated in terrorism activities in southern Philippines.

The Home Affairs Ministry previously said that there was no indication if Muawiya, who has been there since the 1990s, was involved in the Marawi insurgency.

Asked if Singapore would consider putting boots on the ground in Marawi, as it has in Iraq and Afghanistan, Dr Ng said that "in principle”, it would do so if asked. "We’ve to help the Armed Forces of the Philippines or the Philippine authorities deal with this threat because it’s in our interest to do so.”

Still, he added that it was the Philippines’ "sovereign soil” and "if they feel that they can deal with it, they will deal with it”.

While he was confident that the Philippine armed forces can handle the crisis, Dr Ng said that the problem would not vanish even if this was achieved, since there are other larger cells and networks that, once formed, are "very hard to uproot and eliminate”.

The face of terrorism is also shifting. Previously, the al-Qaeda represented what Dr Ng described as "wholesale terrorism”, with "less bomb-making capabilities” then.

By contrast, bomb-making skills have now "gone retail”, with many foreign fighters armed with the know-how to make improvised explosives, hijack and kidnap. Would-be terrorists can also find detailed instructions online on how to hijack a truck and mow down crowds, for instance.

This shift from "wholesale to retail” terrorism has coincided with "more lone-wolf attacks, small cells”, Dr Ng observed.

The number of terror incidents around the world has jumped more than eight-fold from about 1,800 to nearly 17,000 between 2000 and 2014.

Dr Ng said that as IS is weakened in the Middle East, the return of some foreign fighters from Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore can be expected. This is because there was "another cause to fight in… Asean” and the Marawi siege serves as an attraction for such returning militants.

While Singapore has been a target even before the 9/11 attacks in 2011, Dr Ng pointed to the recent plot to launch a rocket from Batam, Indonesia to Marina Bay here, saying such "lone wolves or small groups” are posing a higher risk to security.

"We don’t have specific information about discrete plots, but there’s higher background noise,” he said, adding that the risk rises as more individuals become radicalised.

That is why community vigilance and resilience are key. "We’ve to stand together, take care of each other and make sure that these attacks don’t disrupt the precious harmony that we built.”

Apart from terrorism, the threat from North Korea is a concern both to Singapore and the world. Not only are North Korea’s missiles far-reaching, its ability to place armaments or munitions on these weapons — if achieved — was a "significant threat”, Dr Ng said when asked about the issue.

More importantly, these can also destabilise the Korean Peninsula and "nuclearise” North-east Asia.

Calling it a "difficult problem” with limited choices, Dr Ng urged countries involved in the six-party talks — South Korea, North Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia — to restart discussions and find a solution that "meets our concerns”.

"If you don’t settle this issue, or at least de-escalate it, the risk of a nuclear North-east Asia is not trivial at all,” he said. — TODAY