Singapore Gets Some More Room To Maneuver in Australia

                                       by David Parmer

Singapore has a relatively small, modern and very lethal defense force. The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) consists of three branches, Army, Navy and Air Force. Force size is estimated at around 72,000 members, with more than 900,000 reservists. The Singapore model stresses two features:

• Compulsory national service
• Extended reserve period after release from active duty (10 years)

This results in a force that has a standing, professional cadre, a transient active national service component and a huge reserve pool. So the country has adequate manpower, high tech weaponry and a system that meets its needs. What it doesn’t have is space. Singapore’s 700 sq./km limits the scope of its military operations on a large scale, so it must look overseas for what it needs.

Singapore is a party to the Five Power Defence Arrangement whose other members include the UK, New Zealand, Malaysia and Australia. This May, Singapore signed a 25-year deal with fellow-member Australia that will give it the room it needs to train. 

The SAF will be able to rotate 14,000 troops, up from 6,000 to facilities at Shoalwater Bay and Townsville in Australia’s Queensland. Singapore has agreed to invest A$2.25 billion to upgrade the existing facilities. This will make large- scale maneuvers possible; especially those involving mechanized and armored units.

Australia and Singapore has also agreed to continued military cooperation in the areas of counter-terrorism and intelligence sharing.

Compiled from: ABC, Reuters, and Straits Times

Photo: mindef.gov.sg