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Singapore Military Relations with Other Countries
After Singapore separated from Malaysia in 1965, the
government
actively sought to establish a broad-based international
network of
military contacts as part of its overall strategic plan to
strengthen recognition of its existence as a sovereign
state. In
the 1960s, Britain, Israel, New Zealand, and France were
among the
nations that were approached for assistance as Singapore's
military
planners began to formulate doctrine and evaluate which
aircraft,
artillery, naval vessels, and tanks would be affordable
and
appropriate for the country's armed forces. In the 1970s,
hundreds
of officers, pilots, and technical specialists were sent
to the
Australia, Britain, Japan, the United States, West Germany
and
other countries for advanced training that could not be
provided in
Singapore. Programs in the United States included flight
training
and live-firing exercises for air force personnel selected
to pilot
F-5E and F-5F fighter aircraft, special forces training
for
infantrymen from the army's commando battalions, and
command
training for officers who earned government scholarships
offered
through the Overseas Training Awards fund.
In the 1980s, as the ASEAN countries became
increasingly
concerned about Vietnam's occupation of Cambodia and the
possibility of war between Vietnam and Thailand, Singapore
began to
participate in annual military exercises with Brunei,
Indonesia,
and Malaysia. In 1979 the Singapore and Brunei navies
conducted the
first in a series of annual naval exercises (code-named
Pelican),
and in 1983 the two countries initiated annual infantry
maneuvers
(code-named Termite) involving selected battalions from
both
armies. Singapore infantry units were frequently deployed
to Brunei
for commando and helicopter-borne training. In 1980 the
Singapore
and Indonesian air forces began annual exercises
(code-named
Indopura) that were gradually expanded to include joint
air
maneuvers. Between 1987 and 1989, the two nations shared
the costs
of constructing the Siabu Air Weapons Range in northern
Sumatra.
Singapore's use of this range reduced the need for costly
deployment of interceptor and ground-attack squadrons to
Taiwan or
the United State for live-firing exercises. In 1989
Indonesia also
agreed to allow the Singapore army to use its Baturaja
training
base in southern Sumatra. In 1984 the Singapore and
Malaysian
navies began annual joint exercises (code-named Malapura).
These
exercises usually were held in the Strait of Malacca to
improve the
cooperation between the two nations in patrolling that
important
sea-lane. In 1989 Singapore and Malaysia also initiated
joint
training for army units: the first exercise was held in
Singapore
in May; the second exercise was held in Malaysia in
October.
Although there were no indications that Singapore,
Malaysia, and
Indonesia were interested in negotiating a multilateral
defense
agreement, each country viewed increased bilateral
cooperation as
beneficial to its national security and to regional
stability.
Singapore has maintained good military relations with
the
United States and has supported the stationing of United
States
forces in Asia as necessary to counter both Vietnamese
military
expansion in the region and the establishment of the
Soviet
military presence in Indochina. The 1975 communist victory
in
Vietnam and the subsequent reevaluation of the United
States' role
in Asia and the Pacific worried Singapore's military
leaders. In
1979 Prime Minister Lee expressed concern that Vietnam
would become
a Soviet proxy for the proliferation of a new wave of
communist
guerrilla movements in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and
Singapore. Lee admitted that American reluctance to become
involved
in another Southeast Asian war was understandable, but he
observed
that the ASEAN states lacked the military capability to
reverse the
trend alone. By 1988, however, the scenario of a
domino-like
progression of communism south through Thailand and
Malaysia and
into Singapore had lost much of its credibility. Singapore
viewed
the Soviet Union's decision to withdraw its forces from
Afghanistan
and Vietnam's promise to follow Moscow's lead and withdraw
its
troops from Cambodia as actions that would enhance the
security of
ASEAN states, particularly Thailand. Although further
Vietnamese
and Soviet-sponsored military incursions in the region
were
considered unlikely for the foreseeable future, Singapore
viewed
the stationing of United States forces in Asia and the
Pacific as
advantageous to ASEAN.
By 1988 improved relations between Singapore and
Malaysia had
facilitated a revitalization of the Five-Powers Defence
Agreement.
Britain also began to demonstrate renewed interest in the
pact. In
1970 approximately 12,000 British troops were sent to
Malaysia for
a joint military exercise that included contingents from
the
members of the Five-Powers Defence Agreement. Throughout
the rest
of the 1970s, however, the British limited their
participation in
military exercises conducted to promote the agreement. In
1971
Australia assumed primary responsibility for managing the
Integrated Air Defence System, which was the only
functional
organization maintained under the pact for the protection
of
Singapore and Malaysia. Air defense exercises were
conducted
annually after 1971. During the 1970s and 1980s, New
Zealand and
Australia also deployed some army and air force units to
Malaysia
and Singapore. In 1981 the five states party to the
agreement began
to hold annual ground and naval exercises, which gradually
grew in
size and importance. The 1988 joint naval maneuvers
(code-named
Lima Bersatu) were the largest and most complex military
exercise
organized by the five nations since 1970. They involved 20
naval
vessels, including a British aircraft carrier and a
British
submarine, and more than 100 fighter and reconnaissance
aircraft.
Fighter aircraft from the five countries were assigned to
multinational flight teams, and Singapore's E-2C
reconnaissance
aircraft were used along with P-3C maritime reconnaissance
aircraft
belonging to the Australian and New Zealand air forces.
Singapore
air and naval units gained valuable combat experience from
their
participation in exercises with other members of the
agreement.
Britain, Australia, and New Zealand displayed their
readiness to
respond to any military contingency affecting Malaysia and
Singapore. Thus, in 1989 the Five Powers Defence Agreement
continued to contribute to Singapore's security and the
overall
stability of Southeast Asia.
Data as of December 1989
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