Singapore: Troop carriers held in Hong Kong should be freed

SINGAPORE / AP

Singapore’s defense minister said on Monday that nine armored personnel carriers that are being held in Hong Kong should be returned immediately under sovereign immunity laws.
Customs authorities in Hong Kong, a Chinese territory, seized the eight-wheeled Terrex infantry carriers in November. The vehicles were being shipped back to Singapore following military training exercises in Taiwan.
The “Terrexes and other equipment detained in Hong Kong are the property of the Singapore government. They are protected by sovereign immunity,” Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said in parliament.
“This means they are immune from any measures of constraint abroad.” The incident appears to signal China’s unhappiness with Singapore’s positions on the South China Sea and Taiwan, which Beijing considers a part of China.
Although not a claimant in the South China Sea, Singapore has irritated China by advocating that countries abide by international rules. China claims most of the strategic waterway despite a landmark ruling by an international tribunal in July that invalidated its claims.
Hong Kong’s Customs and Excise Department said on Monday that it could not provide further information because the case was still under investigation. In November, the department said in response to questions about the seizure that 12 shipping containers passing through the city’s port en route to Singapore were detained because “suspected controlled items” were found
on board.