He gave no details in a speech to parliament but said "the prevention of WMD (weapons of mass destruction) proliferation is of prime concern to Singapore," and the government was tightening its export control regime and stepping up cooperation with other countries.

"Last year, we intercepted several shipments of items that could have been used in the manufacture of chemical weapons or missiles," he said.

"Some companies have been prosecuted for breaking our export control laws. We will continue to exercise great vigilance and work with others to curb this threat," he said.

"To this end, I am pleased to announce that Singapore recently joined the Proliferation Security Initiative as a member of its core group," he added.

Singapore, which has one of the world's busiest ports, is one of the staunchest US allies in the war on terrorism and Iraq's former regime.

It is seen as a prime target of Al-Qaeda and allied terrorist groups as a result of its close links with Washington.

"We cannot deal with the terrorist threat alone. The struggle against terrorism is and will be a global one and only the US has the capability to lead it," he said.

Jayakumar defended Singapore's support for Washington's actions in Iraq, saying the deposed government of captured strongman Saddam Hussein was "in material breach" of many UN Security Council resolutions for years.

"I do not think our position was wrong. I do not think we were too pro-US," he said.

Jayakumar said he was aware that some Singaporeans were "a little uncomfortable with our close relationship with the US."

But he said there was "no room for ambiguity" on Iraq.

"Singapore has long publicly spoken about how important and irreplaceable a role the US plays in the world and in our region. Now what is the point of professing friendship if we do not act on what we say when our support is needed?"

The war in Iraq has already had "salutary effects on the struggle to curb WMD proliferation," Jayakumar said, citing Iran, Libya and Pakistan's cooperation with international weapons watchdogs.

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