S'pore doesn't store nuclear weapons for U.S.

S'pore doesn't store nuclear weapons for U.S.

SINGAPORE (AP): In an unusual parliamentary debate in Singapore, several legislators demanded information from the government on Wednesday about the city-state's secret military agreement with the United States.

While no one seems to fear hidden nuclear weapons in Singapore, opposition veteran Joshua "J.B." Jeyaretnam raised that issue when he said he doesn't understand why the 1990 military accord remains classified.

"There are no nuclear weapons stored in Singapore," David Lim, the minister of state for defense, replied, adding that classified military pacts with the United States are in accordance with the city-state's nuclear-free policy.

In Singapore, where the government controls 96 percent of the elected seats in parliament, strong debates about its policies are rare.

The city-state apparently stored nuclear weapons for another country before, albeit unwittingly. Britain kept nuclear weapons at its bases in Singapore during the Cold War without telling the Singapore government, according to a study published in the January/February edition of the Chicago-based Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.

Some members of Singapore's Parliament think it could happen again.

"Why can't the public know exactly, to see what is the agreement between Singapore and the U.S. government?" Jeyaretnam asked about a Memorandum of Understanding, which was signed by former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and former U.S. vice president Dan Quayle, giving the United States greater access to Singapore military facilities.

Legislator Simon Tay also joined the debate, asking if the pact was in line with the nuclear-free treaty that Singapore and the other members of the region's Association of Southeast Asian Nations group have signed.

U.S. Embassy official Tom Gradisher said on Wednesday that the 1990 pact was classified because it contained sensitive information. He declined to comment on whether the pact mentions nuclear weapons.

Lim and U.S. embassy officials said the pact did not put U.S. forces above the law, another issue that Jeyaretnam asked about on Wednesday.

"Are they subject to our laws?" Lim said of U.S. forces often seen in Singapore. "Yes. If they break our laws, yes." Singapore and the United States have close military ties.

Despite its small size and peaceful prosperity, Singapore plans to spend S$7.82 billion (US$4.8 billion) defending itself in 2001.

U.S. soldiers and sailors are a common site in the city- state's bars and shopping malls, and Singapore is in the process of building a naval base big enough to berth U.S. aircraft carriers.