APEC WARNED TO SECURE GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN

By Zakaria Abdul Wahab

SINGAPORE, July 30 (Bernama) -- The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
community has been warned that unless they secured the supply chain of their
goods in the global market, their economy may become target of international
terrorism.

"The threat of international terrorism is real. It is a clear and present
danger, as recent events in Jakarta vividly demonstrate," said Singapore Senior
Minister of State for Trade and Industry S. Iswaran Thursday.

Opening the 7th Secure Trade in the APEC Region Conference here, the
minister said terrorists had shown that they were adaptable and continually
changing their modus operandi and it was important that economies made security
a core part of their business process.

Iswaran said as economic activities such as manufacturing or services become
even more distributed on a global scale, economies need to enhance the security
and resilience of the global supply chain.

He said an attack on the international supply chain would dent confidence in
the security and reliability of the international trading system but "it is the
downstream economic repercussions that would be the most destructive".

Quoting a 2007 economic impact study report, the minister said APEC
economies could lose up to US$137 billion in gross domestic product (GDP) in the
event of a terrorist attack on a major gateway port in the United States.

Iswaran said it would inevitably result in significant job losses, severe
disruption to the lives of the people and substantial impairment to the movement
of goods.

He said it was crucial for APEC economies to develop and maintain the trust
and relationships among all stakeholders so that they could continue to
facilitate and promote international trade securely, efficiently and
cost-effectively.

Iswaran said several quarters within the industry and government had already
taken the initiative to plug security gaps in the supply chain by using better
security technology, improving supply chain management and processes and
enhancing information security to protect the integrity of cargo.

"Some economies have also conducted security programmes to screen containers
for weapons of mass destruction," he said.

However, the minister said although a number of organisations had enhanced
the security of their supply chain and assured customers of the safety of their
goods and supplies, many of these responses tended to be reactive and piecemeal.

According to him, economies needed to understand the complexities of trade
as a global activity and move forward in a more coordinated and concerted manner
to address the issue holistically.

"There is a critical need to promote and enhance collaboration among all
stakeholders so that the entire supply chain, from point to point, across
borders and continents, is secured," he said.
-- BERNAMA