Singapore 'surprised and disappointed' at US report on its counter-terrorism efforts

Singapore has expressed "surprise and disappointment" at the United States' latest Country Report on Terrorism which depicted the Republic in a negative light.

"We are of the view that the State Department's report does not accurately describe the relations that we have with US agencies involved in counter-terrorism matters," said the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a joint statement on Wednesday.

"It also shows a lack of understanding of Singapore's deep commitment towards international cooperation against the threat of terrorism, whether at the bilateral or multilateral level, and not least on the intelligence and law enforcement front," said the statement.

The ministries added that they were particularly surprised and disappointed because of the close relationship and cooperation between the two countries in the area of counter-terrorism.

"For cooperation to work well, parties should not only take into account mutual interests, but also mutual respect and trust," said the statement, adding that they would continue to work with their international counterparts notwithstanding the negative report.

The US report had said that in 2012, Singapore's bilateral and multilateral engagement on counter-terrorism intelligence and law enforcement cooperation was "inconsistent" among other things.

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