Tightly controlled Singapore rolls out tough summit security
SINGAPORE (AFP) — Singapore’s reputation for rigid law and order was seen as a major factor for being chosen to host Tuesday’s US-North Korea summit — and the tiny citystate is determined not to disappoint.
Police, including elite units of Nepalese Gurkhas, will flood the streets and enforce a virtual lockdown of key sections of the city, blocking off roads to facilitate the historic faceto-face between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
And in order to preempt any disruptive protests, a blanket ban has been imposed on bringing flares, banners or loudhailers anywhere near the key summit venues.
Concrete barricades will spring up at key sites and mechanical metal barriers that rise from the ground at the touch of a button are likely to appear on some roads.
The police deployment for the hotly anticipated meeting is expected to be the biggest since 2006 when some 23,000 officers were mobilized for an IMF-World Bank meeting in the city-state.
Sites covered by these restrictions include Sentosa, the resort island where the leaders will meet Tuesday, and a leafy diplomatic district that takes in the Shangri-La hotel where Trump is expected to stay.
Authorities have also restricted the use of airspace, apparently to allow Kim, Trump and their entourages to get in and out of the city-state smoothly.
But that could spell problems for travellers using Singapore’s Changi Airport — one of the world’s busiest international hubs — with aviation authorities warning of delays.
There have already been signs that authorities are nervous ahead of the meeting.
An Australian former terror suspect, who was refused entry into Singapore this week and deported home, said he believed it was because of the looming summit.
A Kim Jong-un lookalike — who said he had been to Singapore before without any problems — was grilled by immigration officials for two hours when he arrived Friday and warned not to visit sites linked to the meeting.
Some of the heaviest security will be around Sentosa, which observers believe was picked because it is relatively far from population centers, and the island’s Capella Hotel where the leaders will hold their historic talks.