Malaysia-Singapore Border Cooperation in the Spotlight With Exercise

On November 15, Malaysia and Singapore conducted another iteration of an emergency response exercise designed to address incidents involving chemical spills across their shared border. The drills put the focus on an important area of cross-border environmental management in their bilateral ties that often flies under the radar but nonetheless deserves attention.

Though Malaysia and Singapore have had a rather prickly relationship in the past and problems do arise in ties from time to time, the two countries interact regularly and various bilateral mechanisms have been put in place to stabilize ties in a wide range of areas. This includes border cooperation in select areas, which is important given the density of traffic through the two main border crossings: the kilometer-long Johor-Singapore Causeway and the Second Link (plans are also underway for the construction of a high speed rail line). Recent government data indicates that about 250,000 commuters are estimated to cross by land between the two countries each day.

Realizing the busy nature of cross-border interactions, the potentially adverse impacts of environmental disasters on both countries, and the prospect of nefarious actors capitalizing on lapses in border security, Malaysia and Singapore have built a framework for environmental cooperation as part of their bilateral ties. That framework now includes the Malaysia-Singapore Joint Committee on the Environment (MSJCE), a link between the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore and Johor Port Authority (MPA-JPA), and the annual exchange of visits (AEV) that feature a review of progress of the overall state of collaboration by the two countries’ environment ministers.

The work in this dimension of the relationship often flies under the radar. The last AEV, which first started in 1979, took place in September this year but made few headlines, with Malaysia’s Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Haji Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar visiting Singapore at the invitation of Singapore’s Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli. During the meeting, both sides reviewed ongoing cooperation under the MSJCE and in the broader relationship but also discussed some thorny issues between them that remain, such as the challenges of adverse transboundary impacts of land reclamation in the Straits of Johor.

The ongoing cooperation under the MSJCE more specifically is also usually rather routine and low-profile. Thus far, the work of the committee has been wide-ranging, covering issues that are significant within the context of the bilateral relationship including vehicular emissions control, water quality maintenance, ecology and morphology monitoring, training exchange programs, information-sharing, and crafting emergency response plans for environmental incidents including those involving oil and chemical spills.

But among the activities of the MSJCE, the one that tends to receive the most attention is unsurprisingly the periodic conduct of exercises designed to test the emergency response plans of both sides to respond to environmental incidents. An area of focus within that exercise program, which began in 2000, has been hazardous chemicals. That is not surprising considering the fact that, per government data, 110,000 tons of hazardous chemicals are moved between the two countries each year, including sulphuric acid, hydrochloric acid, and sodium hydroxide.

No incidents have actually taken place so far involving hazardous chemicals. But this nonetheless continues to be an area that both countries are devoting significant energy to, with a focus on the Tuas Second Link as the only avenue through which hazardous chemicals are allowed to pass. There have been detailed plans crafted in response to this that have been subsequently tested, including notification procedures for early warning, a procedure for emergency response, and the integration of a wide range of agencies to ensure coordination.

An example of this was witnessed in mid-November when both sides carried out another iteration of their emergency response exercises on tackling chemical spills at the Tuas Second Link. The exercise, which was the eleventh held under the MSJCE, was led by the Department of Environment (DOE) Malaysia and National Environment Agency (NEA) Singapore and held on November 15, featuring a total of 24 agencies and companies from both sides. In yet another testament to the busy nature of cross-border interactions, governments on both sides publicized the exercise widely to ensure that commuters would be aware of potential disruptions and could make alternative arrangements.

This time, the exercise scenario simulated a collision involving a car and a truck carrying 20 drums of hydrochloric acid, which resulted in several drums falling on the road across the borders of both countries and leaking profusely. The last iteration of this biennial exercise in 2015 had also involving various kinds of vehicles and chemicals amid heavy traffic congestion, while a separate 2016 joint chemical spill sea exercise along the Johor Strait involved a chemical tanker and a cargo ship.

Singapore, which hosted this round of the exercise, was keen to reiterate its importance within the context of cross-border environmental management. NEA Chief Executive Officer Ronnie Tay said the exercise highlighted the “commitment and preparedness” of the agencies from both countries to enhance prompt and effective response to any incident. With the density of traffic along the border only increasing and the threat of terrorism lingering, both sides clearly recognize that any disagreements ought not to prevent them from making progress on clear areas for cooperation like this one.