Opening ceremony of the Milipol Tech X Summit 2026 – Speech by Mr K Shanmugam, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs

Your Excellency, Pehin Halbi Yussof, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Defence II, Brunei Darussalam,

Your Excellency, Dato Ahmaddin Abdul Rahman, Minister of Home Affairs, Brunei Darussalam,

Your Excellency, Jean-Didier Berger, Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Interior, France,

Your Excellency, Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Faisal bin Mohammed Al-Thani, Minister of State for Interior Affairs, Qatar,

Excellencies,

Distinguished guests,

Home Team colleagues,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Introduction

1. We are all happy to be gathered here today.

Technology in a Changing World

2. The global technology landscape has been and is being reshaped by geopolitics.

3. Supply chains are being rapidly re-configured.

4. There is now a de-coupling of hardware, software and ecosystems.

5. This creates friction in how nations acquire, how they integrate, and how they deploy technology.

6. Technology is also being weaponised to create new attack vectors.

7. Earlier this month, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) issued an advisory on the risks associated with frontier artificial intelligence models.

8. Some new models can autonomously identify zero-day vulnerabilities, and chain them into sophisticated exploits.

9. That is going to cut down the time between discovery and exploitation, potentially from months to hours. Defenders will have almost no time to react.

10. Last year, our critical infrastructure was targeted by a highly sophisticated threat actor – UNC3886. They targeted our telecoms infrastructure.

11. Operation Cyber Guardian was mounted by Singapore in response. It was a sustained 11-month effort to defend our critical infrastructure.

12. Many of us, not just Singapore, are facing attacks that are extremely sophisticated.

Singapore’s Approach

13. In Singapore, our streets remain physically safe. That is the same for many of you. Brunei, Qatar, Malaysia, France, many others.

14. But digitally, the threats have no borders.

15. In 2019, we launched HTX with a clear mandate. Science and technology has to be our force multiplier.

16. Today, AI is becoming the most important force multiplier.

Building Sovereign AI Capability

17. HTX launched the Home Team AI Movement two years ago in 2024.

18. The objectives were and are - apply AI widely, apply it responsibly, and apply it to deliver decisive operational impact.

19. Serious AI capability requires infrastructure which is sovereign, it requires trusted partnerships, and it requires the ability to build and deploy models that are under our control. Otherwise, sovereignty is affected.

20. That is why HTX partnered ST Engineering, Google, NVIDIA, and Nutanix last year, to build what we call NGINE.

21. NGINE is MHA’s first sovereign, GPU-powered, AI infrastructure.

22. It securely computes under our control.

23. Last month, HTX signed an MOU with NVIDIA to build further iterations of NGINE.

24. This goes beyond hardware.

25. It covers AI research, talent development, technical consultancy, and early access to development kits.

26. On top of infrastructure, we have to also build our own models.

27. In collaboration with Mistral AI, HTX has pre-trained our Phoenix family of large language models.

28. Phoenix Small is already operational. It supports officers in synthesising complex information within a secure digital environment.

29. This week, HTX is going to release Phoenix Medium. This can analyse images and documents, and can be adapted to do more advanced agentic tasks.

30. To push this further, HTX will sign a Strategic Partnership for Innovation with Mistral AI.

31. This will deepen collaboration in frontier AI research, including embodied AI and video analytics.

32. Infrastructure and models are only part of the equation.

33. All of us have to build strong workforces. In Singapore, in (Ministry of) Home Affairs, we are building a very strong Home Team AI workforce.

34. And we will continue to invest in people who can deploy these systems well, safely, and effectively.

From AI to Operational Systems

35. AI cannot operate in the abstract.

36. It needs sensors to see, autonomous systems to act, and officers with the operational concepts and ability who know how to work with the sensors as well as the autonomous systems.

37. This is why strategic bets are needed on force-multipliers in the physical domain.

38. Many of these are already deployed today: ground robots, unmanned vessels, drones, automated passenger gates at our checkpoints and clearance systems.

39. The Home Team will take a major step forward in deploying these systems more widely.

40. The next step is humanoid robotics.

41. In September this year, HTX will launch the Home Team Humanoid Robotics Centre, or H2RC.

42. This facility will bring together partners to co-develop humanoid robots with HTX. It will also allow officers to test prototypes and develop new operational concepts.

43. It is different from commercial humanoids built for general-purpose use.

44. H2RC will train humanoid robots with skills specially for Home Team - operational scenarios with high-risks. Examples include hazardous material response and fire safety.

45. As we develop these systems, we have to assume they will also be targeted.

46. This is why the inaugural DEF CON Singapore will be running alongside MTX.

47. This will help us stress-test our systems against world-class hackers before they are deployed operationally.

48. By surfacing vulnerabilities today, we harden frontline assets for tomorrow.

49. DEF CON can become a platform for Singapore to grow the cybersecurity talent needed to defend the systems we build.

50. This is also how MTX must evolve beyond a summit into a broader platform where technology, operations, policy, and cybersecurity come together.

51. DEF CON Singapore is an extremely important step in that direction.

Future Strategic Capabilities

52. Beyond AI, we have to invest ahead of the curve. Some technologies may not yet be central to today’s operations. But they will shape tomorrow’s strategic advantage.

53. Space is one such domain.

54. HTX plans to develop the Home Team’s first satellite, codenamed Xplorer.

55. Xplorer will target hazardous gas plumes.

56. This can give SCDF earlier warning. It improves situational awareness when every minute counts. It will enable faster decisions and faster responses.

57. HTX is also partnering the National Space Agency of Singapore to try and explore how space technology can further strengthen public safety.

58. These are all part of our efforts to build the next generation of Home Team capabilities.

International Collaboration

59. None of what I have mentioned, or very little of what I have mentioned, can be done in isolation or by ourselves.

60. We have forged deep partnerships to stay ahead and push above our weight.

61. We do so with trusted governments, industry leaders, and research institutions.

62. I thank France for its strong partnership with Singapore which has now been elevated under our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

63. We also work closely with many other countries such as the US and South Korea on technology, including mobile technology, cloud technology, and electric vehicles.

64. And at the broader MHA and Ministry of Interior level, we have good working partnerships with many countries including Brunei and Qatar, who are all represented here at the ministerial level.

65. The strong international presence here today reflects a shared and mutual understanding.

66. The challenges we face are shared, and the solutions have to be built in cooperation with trusted partners – countries, as well as organisations.

Conclusion

67. MTX plays a crucial role. This is more than just another conference or event. It aims to be a platform for aligning partners, testing ideas, and translating innovation into operational outcomes.

68. Our ambition is for MTX to grow over time into a global Public Safety Week here in Singapore.

69. Governments, industry, researchers, and operators can come together here to shape how the technology is developed, tested, and deployed for public safety.

70. All of you can help shape that future with us.

71. I wish everyone a fruitful MTX ahead.

72. Thank you.