Ministry of Defence (Singapore)

The Ministry of Defence (MINDEF; Kementerian Pertahanan; 新加坡國防部; தற்காப்பு அமைச்சு) is a ministry under the Government of Singapore responsible for overseeing the national defence of Singapore.

History
MINDEF, together with the Ministry of Home Affairs, was created on 11 August 1970 by splitting up the then Ministry of Interior and Defence.

Responsibilities
MINDEF's mission is to "enhance Singapore's peace and security through deterrence and diplomacy, and should these fail, to secure a swift and decisive victory over the aggressor."

It has a policy of Total Defence which consists of Military Defence, Civil Defence, Economic Defence, Social Defence, Psychological Defence and Digital Defence involving the people, public and private sectors of the country.

Organisational structure
MINDEF has one statutory board, the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA).

The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), which consists of the Singapore Army, the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), and the Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS), is a military component of MINDEF.

The Security and Intelligence Division (SID), the foreign intelligence service of Singapore, is autonomous within the ministry.

Ministers
The Ministry is headed by the Minister for Defence, who is appointed as part of the Cabinet of Singapore. The incumbent minister is Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC MP Ng Eng Hen from the People's Action Party.