This is the second time Singapore has declared the “special event area” under the Public Order Act since it was revised in April 2017. The first was during the 32nd ASEAN Summit. The areas around the Istana and Shangri-La Hotel were designated “special event areas” on April 27 and 28 this year.

Accordingly, the “special event area” covers Tanglin, Newton and Orchard Roads, where the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the US Embassy are headquartered.

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The area surrounding the Shangri-La Hotel has been declared by the Government as a "special event area" for the period of June 10 to 14, 2018. (Photo: Straitstime.com)

In addition, authorities said that security will be tightened on streets surrounding the Shangri-La Hotel as well as special checks will be applied for people and vehicles travelling to these areas.

While some observers say this has raised the likelihood of the hotel being the venue of the historic summit, others think the Shangri-La could be where one of the two leaders will be staying.

However, the choice of summit venue is still shrouded in secrecy.

The Shangri-La Hotel has held major conferences over the years, including ASEAN Summits and ministerial meetings, as well as the annual Shangri-La Dialogue, the latest of which ended on June 3.

The hotel, which is part of the Kuok Group that is owned by Hong Kong-based Malaysian billionaire Robert Kuok, has also hosted top US leaders such as Barack Obama and George H.W. Bush.

Source: VNA