Singapore welcomes Trump-Kim summit despite heavy security

Singaporeans welcomed on Saturday (June 9) historic talks between United States and North Korean leaders due to be held on the island next week despite the prospects of tight security and potential inconveniences it may cause.

Security around the St Regis and Shangri-La Hotel near the shopping area of Orchard Road were tightened with road blocks set to kick in from June 10 onwards. The two luxury hotels are said to be where Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un will be staying during their four-day visit. Neither of the hotels have confirmed.

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 city-state 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 face-to-face between 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 mobilised for an IMF-World Bank meeting in the city-state.

Singaporeans are used to, and largely accept, tough security measures and the sight of uniformed officers patrolling the metro and armed soldiers at airports is normal. The government has long hammered into its citizens that heavy security is necessary as the wealthy financial hub is a prime target for a terror attack. But the extreme measures are likely to be rare even by Singaporean standards, and could disrupt the largely orderly daily life of the city’s 5.6 million residents.

The decision to ban flares, banners and loudhailers at some summit venues is perhaps driven by concerns that even in a city where protests are rare and require a police permit, some may still be tempted to come out onto the streets. 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.

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 centres, and the island’s Capella Hotel where the leaders will hold their historic talks.

The Singapore summit will be the first face-to-face meeting between Trump, the former reality TV star who likes to keep people guessing up to a cliffhanger finish, and Kim, the heir to a reclusive dynasty with a history of reneging on promises to curb its nuclear ambitions. More than 3,000 journalists are due in town, along with delegations and security entourages.