Website that falsely claimed to have MFA links blocked by Singapore police

Afforesight also called itself an independent think-tank in Singapore, but a visit to the address listed on its website led to a research facility operated by a pharmaceutical firm. There were no signs of any such entity.

MP Yip Hon Weng (PAP-Yio Chu Kang), who is the chair of the defence and foreign affairs government parliamentary committee, told CNA he has filed a parliamentary question about this issue.

He will ask about the safeguards preventing foreign actors from exploiting Singapore as a base for covert intelligence gathering and how authorities take action against entities suspected of facilitating such activities.

Mr Yip, who is also chairman of the Digital Defence Alliance Singapore advisory council, said these fake think-tanks and consultancies deserve attention beyond the immediate question of who’s behind them.

“What concerns me is what this tells us about how the terrain of intelligence collection is changing,” he wrote on LinkedIn.

“The most valuable target may no longer be the classified document, but the mental map: how a former diplomat reads a crisis, where an analyst thinks ASEAN consensus might fracture, which arguments resonate within government, or how particular personalities and relationships shape decisions.”

There is a second, less obvious risk, he said, and that is a fabricated institution need not only extract knowledge, but it can eventually shape it. 

“Recruit a few credible experts, publish legitimate analysis alongside carefully curated material, convene discussions, and a synthetic organisation can gradually acquire real world legitimacy. The lines between espionage, influence and what we might call ‘knowledge laundering’ then begin to blur,” he added.