Singapore increases frequency of bilateral military exercises
2024-08-11
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According to foreign media reports, in the first half of 2024, the Singapore Armed Forces increased the frequency of bilateral military exercises and held joint military exercises with Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and Thailand, intending to establish closer military and diplomatic ties with other countries in the region by demonstrating its military projection capabilities and mission execution capabilities, thereby consolidating its image and status as a "proactive regional partner."
According to reports, Singapore faced great defense pressure after independence, began to implement the "all soldiers" policy, and invested a lot of money in purchasing military equipment, gradually developing into one of the main armed forces of ASEAN. In order to show its military strength to the outside world and improve its ability to deal with non-traditional security issues such as terrorism, piracy and natural disasters, Singapore has frequently held bilateral military exercises with neighboring countries in recent years. For example, in 2023, Singapore and Malaysia held the 31st "Malapura" exercise to strengthen the anti-piracy capabilities of both sides in the Strait of Malacca. In the same year, the armies of Singapore and Malaysia held urban combat exercises to enhance urban combat and counter-terrorism capabilities. In May this year, the Singapore Air Force and the Royal Malaysian Air Force held the sixth "Marsin" search and rescue exercise, practicing searching for survivors and conducting medical evacuations near the Tioman Islands. Subsequently, the two countries conducted live-fire urban combat exercises.
The report said that the Singapore Armed Forces hopes to receive training in a wider, more diverse and more realistic environment through bilateral military exercises and drills, and more importantly, to demonstrate Singapore's military projection capabilities in the face of crises and to strengthen its deterrence posture to a certain extent. Deterrence and diplomacy are the two cornerstones of Singapore's defense policy, and the two complement each other - diplomacy is more effective with the support of credible deterrence, and deterrence can also be achieved through diplomacy and negotiation.
Bilateral military activities with countries in the region are one of the important means for Singapore to achieve diplomatic ties. For example, when Malaysia suffered a severe flood disaster in 2015, the Singapore Armed Forces was the first to respond to Malaysia's request and deployed a water purification unit to the country; in 2021, the Singapore Navy's "Swift" search and rescue ship responded to Indonesia's request to assist in the search for the missing "Nangara" submarine. These non-war military operations have helped Singapore consolidate regional ties.
In March this year, building on the mutual trust built through bilateral military exercises and military activities over the years, Singapore and Indonesia implemented three agreements, including the Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA), to further strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the fields of security and defense. The Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized in a statement that the implementation of these agreements is a milestone in Singapore-Indonesia relations, marking the commitment of both sides to work together as neighbors to achieve the best interests of both countries.
Analysts pointed out that the fundamental reason why Singapore frequently holds bilateral military exercises and other activities with neighboring countries is its strong sense of crisis. Singapore believes that the international environment it is in is not friendly. It has long-standing territorial and maritime disputes with Malaysia, which sometimes lead to tensions. In addition, Singapore also maintains a very cautious attitude when dealing with its largest neighbor, Indonesia. As a small city-state lacking strategic depth, Singapore needs to show deterrence to the outside world on the one hand, and to show goodwill to its neighbors and establish diplomatic relations on the other hand, in order to avoid repeating the mistakes of World War II.
(Source: China National Defense News)
