Overview
- Prime Minister Lawrence Wong honored wartime defenders and pioneers who rebuilt Singapore, calling the Occupation a dark chapter and citing the Sook Ching massacre as central to national memory.
- A ceremony at Kranji War Memorial on Sept 12 featured five tolls of a remembrance bell, wreath‑laying by local groups, veterans and foreign dignitaries, and a Senbazuru presented by the Japanese community.
- High commissioners from Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and the UK joined Singapore representatives, with Japan’s ambassador also laying a wreath in a gesture of reconciliation.
- UK Defence Secretary John Healey underscored the UK–Singapore partnership through FPDA exercises and warned of evolving threats including cyber attacks and rapid technological change in warfare.
- Healey pointed to the Royal Navy’s HMS Prince of Wales visit to Singapore in June and cited Japan’s role in the UK‑Japan‑Italy Global Combat Air Programme as evidence of deepening regional cooperation.