Causes of International
Conflicts
- Scarce Resources/Economic interest
Economic
interests can be an issue between countries and result in conflicts. This is because it affects the country’s
ability to survive or prosper economically.
Tension between countries may exist because they sometimes quarrel over
natural resources and economic opportunities.
Since natural resources such as water, oil and fish are scarce and
unequally distributed but are essential to the survival and economic growth of
a country, some countries with fewer resources may resort to the use of force to
gain more or protect what they have. An
example of this would be the case study of Iceland
and Britain. During 1970s, Iceland
and Britain
was in conflict over fishing grounds. Iceland
has few natural resources and is dependent on the fishing industry for its
survival. So, when overfishing by other
countries around Iceland led
to the decrease in fish stocks in 1970s, Iceland took measures to stop this
after efforts to get UN to help failed. Iceland
extended its zone of control to 200 nautical miles beyond its shore. This meant that no country would be able to
fish within this boundary without Iceland’s permission. Britain however refused to
acknowledge the new boundary and continue to fish there. This resulted in several collisions between
Icelandic coast guard and the British navy frigates and eventually led to a
severance of diplomatic ties. This case
study proves countries are often willing to risk war to protect their economic
interests.
Besides
economic interests, countries also get into conflicts over national interests
such as control over certain tracts of land. The land may have strategic or
economic value to the country or may be important to its national pride. As such, some countries may try to extend their control by
taking over territories which do not belong to them. When 2 or more countries
lay claim to the same territory, conflict may arise. This is illustrated by the case study of India and China. In 1947, India gained its independence and inherited the frontier
drawn by the British. China, however, protested that it
had not agreed to the frontier. It was
difficult to have a clear border between India
and China because much of
their frontier lies in the inaccessible Himalayas. Two border regions became areas of conflict,
the NEFA region and the Aksai-Chin
plateau. In the late 1950s, China
contested India’s
presence in several localities along the border and built a road on the Aksai
Chin Plateau in 1958. Tension between India
and China
escalated when fighting broke out in the disputed region. In 1962, war broke
out when China occupied even
more territories which India
regarded as its own. This thus shows control of land can result in conflict as
the land can mean a lot to a country and each country is willing to risk a war
to protect what they consider as their national interests.
- Differences in Political Ideologies
Another
possible reason for conflict would be differences in ideological beliefs such
as democratic beliefs and communist beliefs.
These 2 political systems are very different from each other. In a democratic system, people are allowed to
choose their own government through elections and are allowed to own their own
properties, have their own private enterprises and profit from them. However in a communist system, it is a
one-party government. No private
properties are allowed and the wealth of the country should be shared by
everyone and managed by the government..
Due to the very different beliefs, countries practicing these different
beliefs may be suspicious of one
another. This lack of trust may lead to
hostility and the belief that the other wants to destroy their way of life.
These countries come into conflict if they see their beliefs are threatened or when one tries to impose
their belief on another. A good example
would be the Korean War. In 1950, North Korea,
a communist country, launched its invasion on South Korean in an attempt to
bring the democratic country under its control and unite Korean Peninsula
under communism. Fearing the spread of
communism, USA, its allies
and UN defended South Korea. UN forces counter-attacked and pushed the
North Korean back and proceeded to invade North Korea. China,
fearing that they would be the next target, joined the war and aided in pushing
the UN troops back into South Korea. Finally, in 1953, an agreement to stop
fighting was signed. Such conflicts prove that different political beliefs can
cause a country to feel threatened and resort to war to protect their beliefs.
Conclusion:
As
it can be seen, ideological differences are but one reason for international
conflict. Reasons such as scarce resources and land and border issues form the
bulk of the causes of the conflicts in the world today. We also saw that conflicts are not easily resolved.
But by coming to terms through a treaty agreement would at least provide some
stability and enable prosperity of the parties concerned as in the case of Britain and Iceland.
Other
possible types of conclusion on which are the most important factor/prime cause
of international conflicts:
Competing claims over
territory is the most important reason for international conflicts as this is
the basic element underlying all the other reasons. For e.g. conflicts over
differences in ideological beliefs would not arise if the parties involved are
not worried about each other trying to spread its own ideology to its territory
(or areas under its influence). Likewise, resources are found in certain
geographical location, inevitably falling within the territory of a certain
country which may think that it should exercise its territorial rights when
there is competing claim of ownership by another country over such resources
Way of ensuring the national security of Singapore
Singapore’s
system of National Service ensures
that there is a large number of trained soldiers available for combat during
wartime. Even though the regular armed forces number only about 50 000
full-time soldiers, the pool of National Servicemen (NSmen) will allow Singapore
to have a force of 350 000 soldiers in wartime. This allows the country to save
the high cost of maintaining a large standing army. Also, NSmen are kept in
shape and combat-ready through reservist training for 10 years after their
full-time National Service stints. In
addition, the SAF today adopts the use of 3G
technology which has greatly enhanced our fighting capabilities with the
use of intelligence services. This
surveillance and strike systems of the Air Force, Army and Navy operate
together to provide early intelligence to destroy the enemy before they can
locate us. Technology has also enabled our soldiers to be equipped with modern
weapons to respond promptly when necessary. This ensures that we have a well trained army equipped with the latest
technology to protect and defend us against enemy attacks. It will also prevent
enemies from attacking us (deterrence) as they will think twice before
attacking us as they will suffer heavy damages.
The policy of Total Defence has deterred
aggressors from attacking Singapore.
Singapore’s
idea of Total Defence (TD) represents a multi-faceted approach to our national
defence and ensures that we are ready from any sort of attack on our
country. As TD involves all factions of
our society, it helps to ensure to strengthen national security as all
Singaporeans have a role to play and potential enemies will be mindful that
they are not only dealing with a highly trained armed force, but are also up
against the entire population who are well prepared. Total Defence consists many components, of
which a good example is Economic Defence. When our economy is strong, it will
not break down during war and workers with the relevant skills remain
employable in a competitive economy. This will our nation to continue to
survive even in the midst of adversity. Total
Defence thus ensures that all Singaporeans are prepared to protect and defend Singapore
against any form of enemy attacks. It will also prevent enemies from
attacking us (deterrence) as they have to take on the entire population and
hence will think twice before attacking
us for fear of suffering heavy damages.
Having
a local defence industry allows us to design and build military equipment that
suits our unique needs. The Chartered Industries of Singapore (CIS) was
established in 1967 to produce small arms ammunition and in 2000 and the
Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) was form to provide cost-effective
and modern technology to the SAF. Our
defence industry upgrades or designs weapons (from guns to aircraft to tanks)
to make them better and more powerful. A range of ammunition is produced for
our armed forces to ensure that they will have a supply during wartime. Our
defence industry is also involved in R & D (research and development) in
many areas of modern warfare. Some examples are electronic warfare and remote
sensing using satellites, which are sensitive areas other countries might not
want to share with us. This ensures that
we have an army equipped with the latest weapons to protect and defend us
against enemy attacks. It will also prevent enemies from attacking us
(deterrence) as they will think twice before attacking us as they will suffer
heavy damages.
·
Multi-agency Coordination
on Security
Multi-agency
coordination on security is another way to ensure national security. Today,
there are non-conventional security threats such as transnational security. For
example, the National Security Coordination Secretariat was set up to
coordinate the work of various government agencies towards national security
strategies and policies. It also works with commercial and private parties to
combat terror threats. The integrated security approach is to prevent, protect
and respond to security threats by sharing knowledge and resources. This
integrated security approach prevents, protects and responds to threats
effectively will at least deter people from carrying their threats out and thus
ensure national security.
With close networking among
different ministries, we can deal with threats effectively, and others will
think twice before carrying out their threats. This will further strengthen Singapore’s
national security.
- Military
co-operation with other countries
Singapore
has military agreements with various countries to allow Singapore troops to train in their
countries. Some of these countries are France,
Australia, New Zealand and India.
Singapore
also conducts regular military training with neighbouring countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia. These activities
increase cooperation and strengthen ties among the participating countries.
Singapore
is also involved in multi-lateral military agreements and exercises with other
countries. One example is the Five Power Defence Arrangements which was
established in 1971. The five nations conduct exercises each year to enhance
their cooperation and coordination. In the event of an external threat against Singapore or Malaysia, members would consult one
another on the appropriate measures to be taken to deter the aggressor.
By
taking part in military co-operation with other countries, it helps Singapore
to hone its military skills and widen its experience. It is therefore effective
in deterring its aggressors.
Possible
conclusion:
I think that a citizen armed force is
far more important than our defence industry. While the defence industry is
important as it provides advanced weapons that will increase the firepower of
our limited military force, we still require men on the ground to use these
weapons. It would be useless to have the world’s most advanced equipment with
only a handful of soldiers. The citizen army ensures that there will always be
a sufficient number of men willing to fight and defend Singapore. As such, this is the
critical factor that will make sure that the defence industry is effective in
the first place. Hence, it is the most important method.
Here
are three ways Singapore
used to manage its diplomatic relations with other countries:
Bilateral relations
Regional relations
Membership of the United Nations
Organization
Which of these is the best way to manage diplomatic
relations? Explain your answer.
Bilateral relations
Bilateral relations involve
relations between any two countries. Singapore has been actively
involved in expanding its bilateral relationship with many countries since its
independence. It has established bilateral ties with Malaysia,
China and the USA.
Such bilateral relationships have benefited Singapore in many ways – exchange of
skills, technology and knowledge and the signing of mutually beneficial
economic treaties. For example, in the 1970s, Singapore
established bilateral trading relationships with Japan,
the USA and Germany.
Such partnerships allowed Singapore
to acquire advanced technological skills from these developed countries. As a
result, Singapore
was able to speed up its economic and social development.
Regional relations
e.g. Countries establish
regional relations by forming an association of countries in a region. Some
examples of regional organizations are the EU and ASEAN. Singapore is one of the founding
members of ASEAN. Apart from bilateral
relations, regional relations are important because Singapore alone is limited in its
ability to influence other countries and has less bargaining power. ASEAN
represents a united and collective voice of 10 countries. This strengthens the
member countries’ position when dealing with other regional groupings such as
EU. Therefore, it is important for Singapore to join a regional
association like ASEAN. Moreover, ASEAN has not only helped its members
maintain warm and friendly relations with each other but also provided a
platform for them to discuss issues pertaining to the region and an avenue for
member countries to resolve differences peacefully. Besides Singapore is a small country, being
part of a regional organization, she will be able to get the support that she
needs from the other bigger countries in the organization.
As
a region Southeast Asia has been an attractive destination for foreign
investors since the 1980s although it now faces intense competition from new
economic powers such as China
and India
because of their lower cost of productions and larger markets. Hence in 1992,
ASEAN launched the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) whose long-term aim to
integrate its economies into a single production base, create a regional market
and remove all import taxes among member countries by 2015. The ASEAN Regional
Forum (ARF) was created in 1994 to maintain peace by promoting political and
security dialogue and cooperation among the countries in the Asia-Pacific
region.
Membership
of the United Nations Organization
e.g. Singapore was admitted as the 117th
UN member on 21 September
1965. The aims of the UN are to preserve world peace and security,
develop friendly relations among nations, cooperate internationally to solve
international economic, social, cultural and humanitarian problems, promote
respect for human rights and basic freedom regardless of race, religion and
gender and to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in attaining
the aims listed. Today UN has a membership of 192 countries, including Singapore.
Membership
in the UN provides advantages for Singapore. First, Singapore is given a voice in
international issues.
Even though Singapore is a
small country, being a member of the UN allows Singapore to be recognized by all
its member countries as an independent nation. The UN Charter ensures that its
views, interests and concerns are taken into account in world affairs. Thus UN
provide Singapore
with a platform to voice her opinions on world issues and to obtain the help
that she needs in times of crisis.
For example, in 1995, Singapore’s
former representative to the UN, Professor Tommy Koh chaired the UN Law of the
Sea Conference. Singapore
has also served as one of the elected members of the security council. Thus UN
is provides an important avenue for a small country like Singapore to gain international
recognition and respect.
Membership
into the UN also meant that Singapore
would have international protection against its aggressors. Singapore would
also benefit in the transfer of technology, ideas from advanced UN countries.
The most important type of
relation is Singapore’s membership in the UN as it provides a platform for
Singapore to have interaction and trade links with countries all over the world
and enable the transfer of technology and ideas from advanced countries which
would mean that Singapore would be a technologically advanced country on par
with the other countries of the world. Moreover, as a member of the UN,
aggressive countries would think twice about attacking Singapore. Though regional
relations is lesser important in that it focuses on Singapore’s ties with
countries of a particular region, regional relations is important as it ensures
that Singapore is able to clamp down hard on security related issues such as
terrorism with the support of its neighbors.
Though bilateral ties seem
to be the least important as it focuses only on Singapore’s
relations with a particular country, it itself has helped solve many of Singapore’s
domestic issues such as the water problem. Hence, it must be said that though Singapore’s membership in the UN seem to be most
beneficial, regional and bilateral ties are also important in ensuring the security
and economic well being of Singapore
and its management of diplomatic relations.
Diplomacy has ensured Singapore’s success in protecting
the country against attacks”. How far do you agree with this statement? Explain
your answer.
Causes of Conflict between Iraq
and Kuwait
- Conflict
over territories
One of the causes of the conflict
between Iraq and Kuwait was the claim over the Bubiyan and Warbah Islands.
These islands belonged to Kuwait,
but Iraq wanted these
islands as it would help Iraq
gain access to the open waters of the Persian Gulf.
The Iraqis had even attempted to gain these islands by force in the 1960s and
1970s. Since 1978, Iraq
had tried to lease the islands instead. Kuwait’s refusal to grant this request worsened
the relationship between both sides as Iraq
saw Kuwait’s
refusal as an attack on its national interest. This lead to the conflict
between Iraq and Kuwait
The borders Iraq & Kuwait inherited from the British
after independence were not well-defined. One such contention was over the
profitable Rumaila oilfields in 1990. Iraq accused Kuwait of stealing its oil
at the Iraq side of the oil filed by using slant-drilling technology &
demanded Kuwait stopped drilling and pay Iraq US$2.4 billion in compensation. This led to the Iraq-Kuwait war as Kuwait
refused to compensate, standing firm that their drilling activities were
legitimate. This led to worsening of tension between both countries that
increased the chances of war.
Another factor that caused
the conflict between Iraq
and Kuwait
was the historical enmity that existed between them. Iraq
had all along considered Kuwait
to be part of Iraq.
As such, Iraq expected Kuwait
to give in to its demands. Kuwaiti’s refusal to give in to Iraq resulted in shock and anger. As a result, Iraq
was even more aggressive in trying to force Kuwait to give in to their demands.
The result was a worsening of the relationship between the two as Kuwait
might have seen the Iraqi actions as bullying.
- Overproduction
of Oil by Kuwait / Economic problems / Oil Production
Overproduction of Oil by Kuwait is another cause of conflict between Iraq and Kuwait. Before the start of the
Iran-Iraq war of 1980 to 1988, Iraq
was a relatively prosperous country with about US$35 billion in reserves. Iraq
suffered tremendously during the war with Iran. Besides the heavy loss of lives, Iraq’s
economy was in ruins. Iraq owed about US$80 billion in
debts to its neighbours and other countries that had supplied it with food and
war equipment. The reconstruction of the
war-torn country also required a massive US$230 billion. Iraq, thus, had to find ways to pay
off this massive debt as well as to rebuild the country. Iraq had hoped to pay off its debt
by earning more revenue from the sale of oil.
However, oil prices were falling due to over-production by some
countries. OPEC had put quotas on the
amount of oil that its member countries could produce to prevent a further
decline in oil prices. Kuwait and the UAE, however,
ignored the quota set and produced oil well about their assigned limits. This caused oil prices to fall from US$18 to
US$7 per barrel at one point. Iraq
lost a lot of revenue due to the fall in oil prices. Iraq lost US$1 billion from oil
sales each time the price of oil fell by one US dollar. Iraq
felt that the action of Kuwait
and the UAE was equivalent to waging an economic war on Iraq as 90% of its income came from
the sale of oil. This worsened the
relationship as Iraq saw Kuwait’s refusal as an attack on its interest
and hence Iraq decided to
launch an attack on Kuwait.
Which
is most important reason for the conflict between Iraq
and Kuwait?
Although there were many
reasons for the worsening of relations between Iraq
and Kuwait, perhaps the most
significant cause of the conflict could be the over-production of oil by Kuwait which resulted in the worsening of Iraq’s
economic problems. Iraq was
already facing immense debts and problems with rebuilding the country after the
long war with Iran.
The money to pay off this debt and rebuild the country would come from the sale
of oil. The over-production of oil meant that Iraq received less revenue than it
needed and this increased pressure on the Iraqi government. Historical enmity
is not as important because it was an issue that had existed since the time of Kuwait’s existence and did not threaten Iraq’s
survival then. It could have been a contributing factor but the immediate
problem facing Iraq
then was economic in nature.
Role of United Nations
One of the aims of UN is to
maintain world peace and security. Despite UN less successful attempts in
bringing peace and security to some troubled areas in the world, the Gulf War
serves as a good example of the capabilities of the UN to gather its resources
to deter aggression.
The main reason for the
success in the Gulf War is the involvement of the five permanent members of the
Security Council (China,
France, Russian Federation,
the United Kingdom and the United States).
UN peacekeeping missions
could be effective in resisting aggression if the following conditions were
met:
- High
threat to all UN members leading to general consensus among permanent
members of the Security Council
- US leadership and
support for UN resolutions
- The
legitimacy of working through UN Resolution and the rule of law.
Iraq-Kuwait conflict was a
crisis that destablished the Middle East and
affected the price of oil. The Oil prices jumped 15% in the first few days of
the Iraq Invasion. If the price of the oil continue to rise, all countries in
the world would be affected negatively, which led to UN resolution 678 being
passed, supporting the US-led liberation of Kuwait.
However, due to the
limitations of UN resolutions, US and allied troops could not take direct
military action to support the Kurdish and shi’ite rebellions against Iraq.
The UN would later only
provide safe and humanitarian aid for fleeing Kurdish refugees through no-fly
zones and continued to apply economic sanctions against Iraq.
The Gulf War was resolved
in a relatively short period of time due to the fact that the aggressor was
known. As such diplomatic attempts could be made to negotiate for a settle, and
when that failed, there was a target for coalition force to attack.
Impacts of Iraq-Kuwait conflict
The
Impact on Kuwait was a damaging result of
the conflict. Kuwait suffered heavy losses on
both its society as well as on its economy.
Many Kuwaiti civilians were killed and thousands of others were tortured. Kuwaitis were also treated harshly to force
them to flee their own country. The economy also suffered tremendous losses as
the Iraqi army set fire to 600 out of the 950 oil wells in Kuwait. Damages to Kuwait
amounted to over US $25 billion.
The
Impact on Iraq was
a damaging result of the conflict. The Iraqi
military capability was badly destroyed as coalition forces had
utilised state-of-the art weapons in their campaign against Iraqi troops. The heavy losses suffered by the
Iraqis resulted in a loss of
morale among the remaining troops.
Political instability in
Iraq arose
as Kurds
tried to overthrow Saddam as they felt that his power was on the decline.
However, Saddam
dealt harshly with the uprisings against him. As a result, thousands of Kurds
were massacred and almost one million Kurdish refugees fled Iraq.
Suffering of Iraqis was also apparent. Operation Dessert Storm resulted in the destruction
of a large part of Iraqi infrastructure. Also, the Iraqi people suffered as
they could not carry out their daily activities due to a disrupted supply of
electricity. They also suffered from a spread of diseases as the water supply
in the country was contaminated
The
Regional and Environmental Impact was another damaging result of the war. The Gulf War created an environmental
catastrophe and also resulted in a severe displacement of foreign
workers which created great suffering for their families back home. The Iraqi
forces set fire to Kuwaiti oil wells, dumped about 11 million barrels of oil
into the Persian Gulf, thus greatly
threatening marine life and cost millions of dollars to put out the fires and
clear the oil slick. The displacement
of foreign workers was so severe that nearly 2 million foreign workers
from Bangladesh, India, Egypt,
the Philippine and Palestine fled Iraq
when war broke out. Workers supporting large families back
home suffered sudden loss of income and created great suffering for their families.
What is Transnational Terrorism?
Transnational Terrorism
refers to acts of violence which are global in terms of their aims,
organization and impact. Terrorists are groups that deliberately use violence
to create fear among people in order to fulfil their political objectives.
Impacts of Transnational Terrorism
The impact of transnational
terrorism can be economic in nature. When there is a terrorist attack, lives
are lost, buildings destroyed and businesses lost. The government has to spend
huge amounts of money to rebuild the country and this means that other areas of
development in the country will be affected. Moreover, there is loss of
earnings for many people involved in the travel and tourism trade as many
tourists avoid travelling to a country that has suffered a terrorist attack. This could lead to loss of employment as
well as closure of businesses. Terrorist attacks put additional economic strain
on the government, which is expected to help individuals adversely affected by
terrorist acts.
One of the aims of
terrorists is to disrupt the daily lives of the people living in the country as
well as cause problems for the government. Terrorist acts can adversely affect
peaceful relations among the races in multiracial societies. Some consequences
of the 11 September terror attacks in the United States were attacks on
members of certain ethnic groups. If
unchecked, this could have the potential of developing into riots between
different ethnic groups. . Such terrorist acts also have the potential to
cause certain ethnic groups to feel targeted as they might be singled out for
increased security checks or viewed suspiciously by others in the community. This might cause a feeling of alienation as
well as happiness among this group of people.
Governments have a
responsibility to keep their citizens safe from terrorists. As a result,
governments have had to tighten various controls such as stepping up border
security to ensure that terrorists do not slip into the country. These border
security measures involve greater check on travellers’ identities and
belongings, slowing down immigration clearance as a result. Intrusive
legislations aimed at countering terrorism have also been introduced. Critics
argue that these measures and laws infringe
on individual freedom and personal privacy. Indeed, the transnational terrorism
threat has generated much debate on the trade-off between security and freedom.
What
is the most serious impact?
The most detrimental impact
to Singapore
is the social impact. Although the economic losses caused by terrorist acts can
be tremendous, these can be minimised through assistance from the government,
international organisations or sympathetic governments. The country will be
able to rebuild itself and its economy after some time has passed. The social
impact is most detrimental as it results in the loss of human lives, the cost
of which is immeasurable to the families involved. No amount of monetary aid
will be able to compensate for the loss of lives.
Measures to manage Transnational Terrorism
- ASEAN’s
effort to manage terrorism
Terrorism is seen as a
direct challenge to the achievement of peace, progress and security in
ASEAN. As such, ASEAN governments have
pledged their determination to cooperate against the transnational terrorists
through joint police and intelligence measures.
For example, ASEAN has
pledged to enhance information and intelligence exchange on terrorists and
terrorist activities. This has helped member countries to disrupt terrorist
activities on their soil. In January 2002, the Philippine authorities arrested
the JI bomber-maker Fathur Rohman Al-Ghozi based on information provided to
them by Singapore.
The members also used the ASEAN Regional Forum to discuss transnational
terrorism issues. In January 2007, ASEAN
leaders signed, The Convention on Counter-terrorism to legally bind their
commitment of their national security and law enforcement agencies to work closely
to fight the threat together.
- International
Efforts to Combat terrorism
The UN passed a series of
resolutions in a bid to stop terrorism.
The resolutions aimed at getting all member countries to freeze the
financial assets of terrorists and their supporters, deny them travel and safe
haven, prevent terrorist recruitment and weapons supply, and cooperate with
other countries in information sharing and criminal prosecution. The UN also set up a Counter-Terrorism
Committee to monitor member countries adherence to the resolutions as well as
to strengthen the counter-terrorism capacity of UN member states. The committee also provides technical
assistance to countries that require help in implementing the resolutions. Member countries have managed to freeze more
than US$200 million of terrorist funding.
Through the sharing of information among members, more than 4000
terrorist suspects have been arrested.
- Nurturing
an environment that censures terrorism
All members of society have
a role to play in countering the threat of terrorism. Terrorist narratives are typically founded on
ideas of hate and enmity. Many of these
ideas also glorify the use of violence, and instigate and falsely sanction a
person to commit such acts. There must
not be any ambiguity in society’s stand against these ideas that fuel
terrorism. If a society does not firmly,
unequivocally and actively reject these ideas being propagated by terrorists,
the ideas may slowly gain legitimacy.
Every individual has a role to play to deny the terrorists space in
society.
What
is the best way to combat terrorism?
Despite regional and
international efforts, the international community has not been completely
successful in getting rid of the threat of Transnational Terrorism. Today’s
terrorism cannot be dealt with just by arresting the terrorist operatives.
Terrorists have been able to recruit new operatives to replace those who have
been arrested or killed. Terrorist
recruitment continues to take place because the terrorists are able to spread
extremist and terrorist ideology in a globalizing world where communication
technologies like the Internet can be exploited. It is therefore crucial that society play its
part to counter such radical and extremist influences by nurturing an
environment that censures terrorism. Every
individual has a role to play to deny the terrorists space in society.
Extracted from the article "COEs, ERP and the questions in between solving the traffic congestion problem will become trickier" from the Straits Times on 5 Sept 2008.
