Singapore |

Singapore Armed Forces – Small but With a Lethal Sting

Singapore Soldier.jpg Singapore Soldier (Photo: tumblr)

by David Parmer

“Singapore’s defence policy is based on the twin pillars of deterence and diplomacy.” (MOD, Singapore)

In 2015 Singapore celebraties the 50th anniversary of its Independence, and on July 1 it will celebrate Armed Forces Day. In this anniversary year the people of Singapore can take pride in the fact that they have substantial and professional armed forces protecting their freedom. The history of these forces starts under the British, where various volunteer forces made up the local contingent that fought in WWII, and finally morphed into the present Singapore Armed Forces. These armed forces are made up of:

The Singapore Army
The Republic of Singapore Air Force
The Republic of Singapore Navy

The SAF has an estimated strength of 70,000 active duty personnel and about 90,000 reservists. What are called “National Servicemen” make up 80% of the forces. All males over 18 are required to serve two years’ active duty and are obligated for another 10-year reservist cycle. Women are not conscripted but may volunteer for duty.

The deterence and diplomacy of the country’s defence policy has two pillars:

A strong and capable SAF
Strong and friendly ties with defence establishments around the world

To carry out the first objective, the SAF is continually modernizing. It is now in what it calls its third generation of development. The first generation was simply basic defense, the second generation was the process of upgrading and modernizing equipment, (some of which is produced locally to local specifications) and the third generation is to adapt to conditions in a post-9/11 world where it must be able to deal with both piracy and terrorism as well as conventional missions.

SAF Apache Helicopter (MOD via flickr)

As for “strong and friendly ties” with other countries, first Singapore is a member of the Five Power Defence Arrangements which includes Singapore, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia. Singapore also has close ties with the United States and since 1990 there has been an arrangement where US naval forces can use Singapore facilities. Singapore also works with ASEAN, and is active in the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting. Since 2002 Singapore has hosted the Shangri La Dialogue, a meeting of defence ministers and defence officials. To round out its international activities, the SAF has participated in numerous Peace Keeping Operations (PKO) and relief missions worldwide.

The SAF maintains a high level of operational readiness to defend Singapore against threats from the land, sea, or air. In order to defend Singapore against a widened spectrum of threats, including non-state threats such as terrorism and piracy, the SAF’s task forces bring together capabilities across the SAF, and work together with other national agencies, to respond swiftly and effectively to potential threats. (SAF Website)

In just 50 years the Republic of Singapore has made remarkable progress, leveraging its location and human capital to become one of the leading economic powerhouses in Asia and a model for what a city-state with multi-racial population can achieve. Remarkable progress and achievement is also the hallmark of the Republic’s armed forces, who in just 50 years have made themselves into a modern, regional force to be reckoned with.

Ministry of Defence Republic of Singapore

http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/home.html

Ministry of Defence Republic of Singapore All Websites

http://www.mindef.gov.sg/content/imindef/allwebsites/webdir.html#tab-1

Singapore Armed Forces

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore_Armed_Forces

ASEAN Members: Singapore

480px-View_from_UOB_Plaza_1,_Singapore_-_20091211.jpg Singapore Skyline (Wikimedia)

by David Parmer

In many ways Singapore can be considered an accidental country. It seems historical and geographical factors converged to create a unique state that started its life as a colonial possession and evolved to become a vibrant Asian democracy which has yet to reach its potential as a regional leader and model.

There is an old saying in the real estate business: “location, location, location.” Meaning location is the key to property value. And “location” is just one of Singapore’s selling points. Singapore is located at the tip of the Malay peninsula with the Strait of Malacca to its left and the South China Sea to its right. The country consists of 63 islands and has a land mass of 241 sq. mi (624 sq.km)

The Strait of Malacca is one of the busiest waterways in the world, which makes Singapore one of the five busiest ports in the world. And this facilitates another Singapore business; ship repair. Other sectors of the vibrant Singapore economy include:

Financial services
Oil drilling
Rubber production
Manufacturing
Tourism

To staff these industries Singapore can call upon a population of around 5.5 million-40% of whom are non-citizens. Singaporeans speak English (30%) Mandarin Chinese (50%) and Malay (12%) Tamil (03%). Other dialects of Chinese are also spoken. English, however, is considered a primary language. Singapore has an extensive state-supported school system in which students score high in mathematics and science. There are also two local public universities that are highly ranked internationally.

Singapore’s British connection began with a treaty to establish a trading post signed by Sir Stamford Raffles and the Sultan of Johor in 1819. It became a Crown Colony in 1946, achieved full self government in 1959. It briefly joined the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, and, in 1965, became a parliamentary republic.

Present day Singapore is one of the five founding members of ASEAN, is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, and is a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations.

In general Singapore has good relations with its neighbors, although there are border issues with Malaysia and an ongoing and severe pollution problem caused by slash-and-burn agriculture in neighboring Indonesia that blankets the city and often causes serious visibility problems in the hyper-busy Strait of Malacca.

Singapore has a capable military and mandatory national service (draft). The country had assistance from Israel’s IDF in setting up its military, and besides Israel it has military connections with Australia, France and the US.

Singapore, the accidental country, looks to have a bright future. The real question is can it continue to embrace its ethnic and linguistic diversity to forge a long term and unique Singapore identity that will let it play to its strengths in this century and beyond. So far, so good.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sn.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore#History

http://www.yoursingapore.com/meet-know-singapore.html

Asian Waters—The Very Busy Strait of Malacca

Strait of Mallaca (Photo: Maritime Trade Intelligence)

by David Parmer

You could argue that the Malacca strait is not just the most important waterway in Asia, but is also the most important waterway in the world. And you would be on strong ground in doing so. Just look at the facts. Every year 50-60,000 ships pass through the strait of Malacca. One-third of the world’s shipping trade and an enormous amount of crude oil (15.2m barrels a day in 2011) and petroleum products make the trip from the Andaman Sea to the South China Sea. It is the shortest sea route between the Persian Gulf and Asia, specifically resource-hungry countries like China, Japan and Korea.

The Malacca Strait is a 550-mile-long sea route, ranging in width from a wide 155miles, to 40 miles to a very harrowing 1.7 miles wide (in the Phillips Channel of the Singapore Strait). The Malacca Strait flows between Indonesia and Malaysia and Singapore. The maritime standard for the area is Malaccamax, i.e. that it can handle vessels with a maximum draught of 82 feet. But for vessels of any size, the busy Malacca Strait is not without its dangers.

malacca-strait-1.gif.jpeg

Map:Strait of Malacca (Encyclopedia of Earth)

In such a heavily trafficked area there is always danger of grounding, collision and oil spills. Sea-Seek Sailing Guide reports that there are 34 shipwrecks in the traffic separation channel. Add to this the annual appearance of serious haze from slash-and-burn agriculture on Sumatra that cuts visibility down to 200 meters. And finally, there is the scourge of mariners worldwide throughout history: piracy.

Reports of the extent of Malacca piracy vary, some say it has decreased to almost nothing, and others say there is a sharp rise in attacks on merchant shipping. Reports from 2013 show a steady decline in attacks, while others pinpoint Malacca as a piracy hot spot comparable to the Somali coast. Increase or decrease notwithstanding, the Malacca Strait is an area where pirates abound. Malacca pirates mostly target valuables on the ships and crews’ possessions, although some more sophisticated gangs steal oil products. In 2006, due to a decreased risk, the global insurer Lloyds dropped its “war risk classification” for ships sailing the strait.

Decreased piracy activity is due in part thanks to the Malacca Straits Sea Patrol, operated by Indonesia, Malaysian, Singapore and Thailand. These countries also share information and intelligence on piracy. Countries in the region also cooperate through membership in the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP). In September 2014, the United States became the 20th member of ReCAAP, and sent a US Coast Guard admiral to sit on its board.

Since 2007, there has also been three-nation cooperation through the Cooperative Mechanism on Safety of Navigation and Environmental Protection in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.

So, is the Strait of Malacca the most important waterway in Asia and in the world? If you say “yes” you will probably be right.

Piracy Decrease:

http://www.todayonline.com/sites/default/files/manualassets/pirates_2014/index.html

Piracy Increase:

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/indonesia/140326/malacca-strait-piracy-hotspot

Regional, 20-Country Anti-Piracy Organization:

http://www.recaap.org