On 16 November 2022, the delegation of Singapore from the Ministry of Defence visited the Vivekananda International Foundation to interact on the issues of counter-terrorism and cyber security. Ouyang Zi Qi, Counter Terrorism analyst, Tan Kian Jui, Senior Director and David Chen Yeshan, Counsellor High Commission of the Republic of Singapore visited as part of the delegation.

Lt General RK Sawhney, Centre Head & Senior Fellow, National Security and Strategic Studies & Internal Security Studies, gave the introductory remarks. He outlined the constant threat India faces from its immediate neighbour, Pakistan, and how it continues to use the policy of bleeding India through thousand cuts. He elaborated on the overarching theme of terrorism and India’s efforts to curb the threat and the challenges India faces regarding the lawlessness of the terrorist groups.

Against the backdrop of terror financing and terrorist infrastructure capability, the possibility of a terrorist attack on a nuclear plant was discussed. The terror financing for the sophisticated infrastructure of the Islamic State was touched in terms of cyber attack capabilities on critical infrastructure. State-sponsored terrorism was also brought up, highlighting the undeniability of state interests through terrorism by certain countries. The looming threat of radicalisation on the urban and educated population of both countries, leading to potential lone wolf attacks and cyber attacks, was also taken into account.

Further, the rise of Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISKP) in the past year and the rivalry with the Taliban were examined. The viability of the Taliban staying in power and the new sharia law imposition in Afghanistan were also discussed. The lack of ingenuity on the Taliban’s part in its 2.0 regime was further scrutinised.