SG has transformed into a 21st-century Sparta, respected by major powers and boasting one of the world’s most well-equipped armed forces.

[nirvarq]

Wow this most certainly shows that the PAP is amongst the best of the best.

Richard Heydarian

How ‘poisonous shrimp’ Singapore became the US’ undeclared ally in Asia​

• The city state has deftly fortified strategic ties with the West while remaining a trusted interlocutor to and top investor in China
• Although it was overlooked for the US’ upcoming democracy summit, Singapore remains America’s most reliable strategic partner in Southeast Asia

Illustration: Craig Stephens

“In a world where the big fish eat small fish and the small fish eat shrimps, Singapore must become a poisonous shrimp,” former Singaporean prime minister Lee Kuan Yew said in a famous 1966 speech. Bereft of allies and surrounded by hostile neighbours at the height of the Cold War, Lee made a passionate plea for steadfastness and self-reliance in face of danger.

Half a century later, Singapore has transformed into a 21st-century Sparta, respected by major powers and boasting one of the world’s most well-equipped armed forces. Thus, the Biden administration’s decision to snub Singapore, among other Southeast Asian states, for its upcoming Summit for Democracy has raised some eyebrows.

But what is often overlooked about Singapore is its quiet yet steady emergence as America’s most reliable strategic partner in Southeast Asia. Remarkably, the city state has fortified strategic ties with the West while remaining a trusted interlocutor to and top investor in China, underscoring Singapore’s diplomatic finesse.

Following Singapore’s expulsion from the Malayan federation, the country’s founding fathers adopted a distinct strategic doctrine. It was anchored in two key tenets – the importance of pragmatism in dealing with larger neighbours as well as the recognition of existential vulnerability to external threats.

A couple wearing face masks walk past the Merlion statue in Singapore on March 14, 2020. Singapore’s strategic doctrine has been anchored in two key tenets – the importance of pragmatism in dealing with larger neighbours as well as the recognition of existential vulnerability to external threats.Photo: AP

The upshot of this strategic doctrine, which was institutionalised by Lee and his foreign minister Sinnathamby Rajaratnam, was a sophisticated, non-aligned foreign policy. As Lee declared in the thick of the Cold War, “We are non-aligned if we are asked to choose between competing power blocs.”


The end of the Cold War, however, saw Singapore gradually transform into America’s most reliable partner in the region for three key reasons. First, Singapore has served as a bridge between post-Mao China and the West, deftly nudging both sides to converge around capitalist prosperity.

Lee, a Cambridge-educated barrister who assiduously worked on his Mandarin, influenced Chinese leaders from Deng Xiaoping to Xi Jinping across the decades. Singapore’s successful combination of capitalism and illiberal politics served an inspiration for a whole generation of Chinese leaders, who oversaw an unprecedented era of market reforms.


This is why, upon Lee’s passing in 2015, China’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement hailing the Singaporean leader as “a uniquely influential statesman in Asia and a strategist embodying Oriental values and international vision”.

Singapore has continued to play this indispensable role under its current prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, who has consistently warned against a new Cold War which would “be bad, not just for other countries big and small, but for both America and China, too”.

Lee Kuan Yew: life and legacy​

In fact, a whole host of US presidents from Richard Nixon to Joe Biden have relied on Singaporean leaders’ advice, treating their views as a bellwether for understanding broader geopolitical trends in Asia.

But what makes Singapore even more important to Washington is the rapid expansion in bilateral defence cooperation in recent decades. Historically, the US has relied on Southeast Asian treaty allies such as the Philippines, which hosted America’s largest overseas bases throughout the 20th century, to project power in the region.

But the Philippines proved too fickle for the US, which lamented the expulsion of American forces from the island nation amid an upsurge of Filipino nationalist sentiments in the early 1990s. It was precisely at this juncture that Singapore offered to host some of America’s military assets, setting the stage for a new era of intimate and consequential defence cooperation.

Thanks to a series of key defence deals – from the Memorandum of Understanding in 1990 to the Strategic Framework Agreement in 2005 and the 2019 Protocol of Amendment to the 1990 MOU – the US and Singapore have rapidly upgraded their military cooperation. Since 2016, the two sides have finalised almost US$40 billion in bilateral defence deals.

In Singapore, US VP Harris talks about South China Sea, US exit from Afghanistan and Covid-19

Today, Singapore is the only Southeast Asian country with access to the US-made F-35 fighter jets, while US littoral combat ships enjoy access to designated facilities in the strategically located city state. In the words of one US official, Singapore is a partner that acts like an ally.

Despite its commitment to non-alignment, the city state has tended to tilt towards the US. After all, Singapore has relied on and benefited from America’s naval prowess, which ensures a high degree of freedom of commerce and navigation in Asian waters.

Even so, Singapore has always been careful to not fully alienate China. To this end, the city state has offered Beijing reciprocal strategic agreements, including the 2008 Agreement on Defence Exchanges and Security Cooperation, which was upgraded in 2019. Though not as consequential as Singapore’s defence deals with Washington, this series of reciprocal agreements have largely managed to mollify China’s fears of a full Singaporean alignment with the West.

Finally, Singapore, a key member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, has also emerged as an anchor of regional peace and stability. A host to major global conferences such as the annual Shangri-La Dialogue and equipped with state-of-the-art naval forces, the city state is a regional power that consistently emphasises the importance of international law and a rules-based order in Asia.

Some pundits have even begun to discuss the growing role of a “Squad”, with Singapore operating in tandem with Quadrilateral Security Dialogue members Australia, India, Japan and the US in preserving a free and open order in the region. As Lee said while giving the 2009 S. Rajaratnam Lecture, Singapore should always remain a major contributor to regional stability so that major powers “have an interest in our continued survival and prosperity as a sovereign and independent nation”.

The Biden administration might have skipped inviting Singapore to the summit for democracies. But with two cabinet-level US officials visiting the city state within a span of two months earlier this year amid rapidly growing defence and strategic cooperation, there is little doubt as to who is America’s undeclared ally in Asia.

https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinio...rimp-singapore-became-us-undeclared-ally-asia

 

[nirvarq]

• Although it was overlooked for the US’ upcoming democracy summit, Singapore remains America’s most reliable strategic partner in Southeast Asia

The United States has $8.5 billion in active government-to-government sales cases with Singapore under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) system. FMS sales notified to Congress are listed here, and recent and significant prior sales include: F-35B Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) aircraft, BU-10 Paveway II Laser Guided Bomb (LGB) units, GBU-12 Paveway II LGB units, FMU-152 or FMU-139D/B fuzes, F-16 Block 52 upgrades, F-16 pilot training and logistics support, F-15SG pilot training, AH64-D Apache Helicopters, Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS), AN/TPQ-53 Counter fire Acquisition Radar Systems, XM395 Accelerated Precision Mortar Initiative (APMI) Rounds, Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) Kits, and HARPOON, AMRAAM and Sidewinder missiles.

Since 2016, the United States has also authorized the permanent export of over $37.6 billion in defense articles to Singapore via Direct Commercial Sales (DCS). The top categories of DCS to Singapore include: aircraft parts and components, gas turbine engines, and military electronics.

https://www.state.gov/u-s-security-cooperation-with-singapore/

 

[maxsanic]

This is the type of article that regurgitates a long list of 101 facts without actually going anywhere. It does not give any insights on what Singapore is likely to do other than the fact we would like to sit on the fence and enjoy the benefits of both ends.

Also my toes are laughing at this:

Singapore has transformed into a 21st-century Sparta, respected by major powers and boasting one of the world’s most well-equipped armed forces.

A 21st-century Sparta!? LOL Sparta was able to take on the superpower of its time, Persia. Does anyone think Singapore will last >24 hours against US/CN/RU on its own? And one of the world's most well-equipped armed forces? Is this a joke? In what sense? I admit Singapore is relatively well-equipped for its size and able to defend itself against ASEAN threats on a 1:1 basis, but BS also must have limits.

Most important thing is, Singapore has no defense industrial capability of its own, almost all its equipment is simply bought off the shelf from US and European companies. That's no different from many of those oil rich kingdoms in Middle East with a panoply of toys.

 

[JohnTan]

A 21st-century Sparta!? LOL Sparta was able to take on the superpower of its time, Persia. Does anyone think Singapore will last >24 hours against US/CN/RU on its own?

Singapore is able to taken on both jiuhu and indon at the same time. Our military training and equipment is meant for that scenario.

Most important thing is, Singapore has no defense industrial capability of its own, almost all its equipment is simply bought off the shelf from US and European companies.

A lot of our weapons are made domestically by Singapore Technologies and ST Kinetics.

 

[maxsanic]

Singapore is able to taken on both jiuhu and indon at the same time. Our military training and equipment is meant for that scenario.



A lot of our weapons are made domestically by Singapore Technologies and ST Kinetics.

1) Yes, but Malaysia and Indonesia is no Persia of our time, so branding ourselves as 21st century Sparta is a ridiculous analogy. In fact Malaysia is in such a sad state it has no real operating air force and relies heavily on trainer jets to make up the numbers. They also face a severe cash crunch and reports are coming out they are even prepared to procure trainer jets as an alternative for their future fighters.

2) No. Other than peripheral items such as light land weapons like rifles, ammunition and light armored vehicles, every major weapon system is procured from US / Europe. Without buying weapons from US / Europe, Singapore will be left with literally nothing else except infantry and light armour and perhaps a few small naval fast craft.

 

[Sideswipe]

SG army can't fight lah. think SG can't even fight one month of artillery battle against Malaysia without negotiating peace.

 

[laksaboy]

US military ships have docked at Changi Naval Base countless times. It's not a secret. This is a non-story article.

SCMP is a pro-CCP newspaper, don't be distracted by its 'Hongkie' status.

The 'undeclared' status is just not wanting to jeopardize relations with China, endangering the money Temasek and various Chinese towkays had pumped into China.

This small island is also overrun with CCP spies, they infest the media, academic and business circles. Dickson Yeo was just the tip of the iceberg.

 

[laksaboy]

SG army can't fight lah. think SG can't even fight one month of artillery battle against Malaysia without negotiating peace.

It can always provide 'logistical support' from behind while the real men fight at the frontline. Refer to Iraq.

 

[wikiphile]

we have? since fucking when?

 

[JohnTan]

1) Yes, but Malaysia and Indonesia is no Persia of our time, so branding ourselves as 21st century Sparta is a ridiculous analogy. In fact Malaysia is in such a sad state it has no real operating air force and relies heavily on trainer jets to make up the numbers. They also face a severe cash crunch and reports are coming out they are even prepared to procure trainer jets as an alternative for their future fighters.

Ancient Sparta was known to be incredibly cruel and racist towards non-Spartans. I don't like our SAF to be likened to Spartans. Whoever did so, PAP or not, needs to do more homework on their history before likening us to historical armies. I would say that our army should be likened to the Athenian army. Just like ancient Athens, we are a merchant state.

mudland and indon are certainly no Persia of our time. But our SAF was set up to defend ourselves against these two immediate and ongoing military threats. The Persia of our time would be Russia and China. Russia is too far away, and China's ability to project power for now is limited. We could give China a good run for their money, based on defending ourselves at the limits of their power projection and not on a full scale land invasion kind of conflict.

2) No. Other than peripheral items such as light land weapons like rifles, ammunition and light armored vehicles, every major weapon system is procured from US / Europe. Without buying weapons from US / Europe, Singapore will be left with literally nothing else except infantry and light armour and perhaps a few small naval fast craft.

Most countries around the world buy their military hardware. We're not like the US or NATO, and our security needs are different. So there's no need for us to set up a defence industry on the same scale as the US. We do have our own anti-tank missiles like the MATADOR, which is locally developed with Jewish help.

 

[mojito]

Richard Heydarian

How ‘poisonous shrimp’ Singapore became the US’ undeclared ally in Asia​

• The city state has deftly fortified strategic ties with the West while remaining a trusted interlocutor to and top investor in China
• Although it was overlooked for the US’ upcoming democracy summit, Singapore remains America’s most reliable strategic partner in Southeast Asia

Illustration: Craig Stephens

“In a world where the big fish eat small fish and the small fish eat shrimps, Singapore must become a poisonous shrimp,” former Singaporean prime minister Lee Kuan Yew said in a famous 1966 speech. Bereft of allies and surrounded by hostile neighbours at the height of the Cold War, Lee made a passionate plea for steadfastness and self-reliance in face of danger.

Half a century later, Singapore has transformed into a 21st-century Sparta, respected by major powers and boasting one of the world’s most well-equipped armed forces. Thus, the Biden administration’s decision to snub Singapore, among other Southeast Asian states, for its upcoming Summit for Democracy has raised some eyebrows.

But what is often overlooked about Singapore is its quiet yet steady emergence as America’s most reliable strategic partner in Southeast Asia. Remarkably, the city state has fortified strategic ties with the West while remaining a trusted interlocutor to and top investor in China, underscoring Singapore’s diplomatic finesse.

Following Singapore’s expulsion from the Malayan federation, the country’s founding fathers adopted a distinct strategic doctrine. It was anchored in two key tenets – the importance of pragmatism in dealing with larger neighbours as well as the recognition of existential vulnerability to external threats.

A couple wearing face masks walk past the Merlion statue in Singapore on March 14, 2020. Singapore’s strategic doctrine has been anchored in two key tenets – the importance of pragmatism in dealing with larger neighbours as well as the recognition of existential vulnerability to external threats.Photo: AP

The upshot of this strategic doctrine, which was institutionalised by Lee and his foreign minister Sinnathamby Rajaratnam, was a sophisticated, non-aligned foreign policy. As Lee declared in the thick of the Cold War, “We are non-aligned if we are asked to choose between competing power blocs.”


The end of the Cold War, however, saw Singapore gradually transform into America’s most reliable partner in the region for three key reasons. First, Singapore has served as a bridge between post-Mao China and the West, deftly nudging both sides to converge around capitalist prosperity.

Lee, a Cambridge-educated barrister who assiduously worked on his Mandarin, influenced Chinese leaders from Deng Xiaoping to Xi Jinping across the decades. Singapore’s successful combination of capitalism and illiberal politics served an inspiration for a whole generation of Chinese leaders, who oversaw an unprecedented era of market reforms.


This is why, upon Lee’s passing in 2015, China’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement hailing the Singaporean leader as “a uniquely influential statesman in Asia and a strategist embodying Oriental values and international vision”.

Singapore has continued to play this indispensable role under its current prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, who has consistently warned against a new Cold War which would “be bad, not just for other countries big and small, but for both America and China, too”.

Lee Kuan Yew: life and legacy​

In fact, a whole host of US presidents from Richard Nixon to Joe Biden have relied on Singaporean leaders’ advice, treating their views as a bellwether for understanding broader geopolitical trends in Asia.

But what makes Singapore even more important to Washington is the rapid expansion in bilateral defence cooperation in recent decades. Historically, the US has relied on Southeast Asian treaty allies such as the Philippines, which hosted America’s largest overseas bases throughout the 20th century, to project power in the region.

But the Philippines proved too fickle for the US, which lamented the expulsion of American forces from the island nation amid an upsurge of Filipino nationalist sentiments in the early 1990s. It was precisely at this juncture that Singapore offered to host some of America’s military assets, setting the stage for a new era of intimate and consequential defence cooperation.

Thanks to a series of key defence deals – from the Memorandum of Understanding in 1990 to the Strategic Framework Agreement in 2005 and the 2019 Protocol of Amendment to the 1990 MOU – the US and Singapore have rapidly upgraded their military cooperation. Since 2016, the two sides have finalised almost US$40 billion in bilateral defence deals.

In Singapore, US VP Harris talks about South China Sea, US exit from Afghanistan and Covid-19

Today, Singapore is the only Southeast Asian country with access to the US-made F-35 fighter jets, while US littoral combat ships enjoy access to designated facilities in the strategically located city state. In the words of one US official, Singapore is a partner that acts like an ally.

Despite its commitment to non-alignment, the city state has tended to tilt towards the US. After all, Singapore has relied on and benefited from America’s naval prowess, which ensures a high degree of freedom of commerce and navigation in Asian waters.

Even so, Singapore has always been careful to not fully alienate China. To this end, the city state has offered Beijing reciprocal strategic agreements, including the 2008 Agreement on Defence Exchanges and Security Cooperation, which was upgraded in 2019. Though not as consequential as Singapore’s defence deals with Washington, this series of reciprocal agreements have largely managed to mollify China’s fears of a full Singaporean alignment with the West.

Finally, Singapore, a key member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, has also emerged as an anchor of regional peace and stability. A host to major global conferences such as the annual Shangri-La Dialogue and equipped with state-of-the-art naval forces, the city state is a regional power that consistently emphasises the importance of international law and a rules-based order in Asia.

Some pundits have even begun to discuss the growing role of a “Squad”, with Singapore operating in tandem with Quadrilateral Security Dialogue members Australia, India, Japan and the US in preserving a free and open order in the region. As Lee said while giving the 2009 S. Rajaratnam Lecture, Singapore should always remain a major contributor to regional stability so that major powers “have an interest in our continued survival and prosperity as a sovereign and independent nation”.

The Biden administration might have skipped inviting Singapore to the summit for democracies. But with two cabinet-level US officials visiting the city state within a span of two months earlier this year amid rapidly growing defence and strategic cooperation, there is little doubt as to who is America’s undeclared ally in Asia.

https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinio...rimp-singapore-became-us-undeclared-ally-asia

Baotoh kia!

 

[mojito]

Ancient Sparta was known to be incredibly cruel and racist towards non-Spartans. I don't like our SAF to be likened to Spartans. Whoever did so, PAP or not, needs to do more homework on their history before likening us to historical armies. I would say that our army should be likened to the Athenian army. Just like ancient Athens, we are a merchant state.

mudland and indon are certainly no Persia of our time. But our SAF was set up to defend ourselves against these two immediate and ongoing military threats. The Persia of our time would be Russia and China. Russia is too far away, and China's ability to project power for now is limited. We could give China a good run for their money, based on defending ourselves at the limits of their power projection and not on a full scale land invasion kind of conflict.



Most countries around the world buy their military hardware. We're not like the US or NATO, and our security needs are different. So there's no need for us to set up a defence industry on the same scale as the US. We do have our own anti-tank missiles like the MATADOR, which is locally developed with Jewish help.

Attens is birth place of demo crazy how cum SG not invite join biden forum? I prefer be sporeta's walls.

 

[tanwahtiu]

There was no competition in arm race and most countries buy only US arms, except those new US enemy will buy Soviet/Russia arms only in past 50 years. China arms race will compete with US soon and there will be 3 big parties can sell arms.... more choices for new US enemy to buy.

Singapore has choices to buy arms from China and Russiasoon. And likely will buy Chinese arms.... East Asians buy from China...

American is China oldest hated enemy of the past back dated to 1700s opium trade war ..... China and all Chinese on earth will want European and BE blood in their hands....报仇雪恨...

你拜初一 我拜十五...

Richard Heydarian

How ‘poisonous shrimp’ Singapore became the US’ undeclared ally in Asia​

• The city state has deftly fortified strategic ties with the West while remaining a trusted interlocutor to and top investor in China
• Although it was overlooked for the US’ upcoming democracy summit, Singapore remains America’s most reliable strategic partner in Southeast Asia

Illustration: Craig Stephens

“In a world where the big fish eat small fish and the small fish eat shrimps, Singapore must become a poisonous shrimp,” former Singaporean prime minister Lee Kuan Yew said in a famous 1966 speech. Bereft of allies and surrounded by hostile neighbours at the height of the Cold War, Lee made a passionate plea for steadfastness and self-reliance in face of danger.

Half a century later, Singapore has transformed into a 21st-century Sparta, respected by major powers and boasting one of the world’s most well-equipped armed forces. Thus, the Biden administration’s decision to snub Singapore, among other Southeast Asian states, for its upcoming Summit for Democracy has raised some eyebrows.

But what is often overlooked about Singapore is its quiet yet steady emergence as America’s most reliable strategic partner in Southeast Asia. Remarkably, the city state has fortified strategic ties with the West while remaining a trusted interlocutor to and top investor in China, underscoring Singapore’s diplomatic finesse.

Following Singapore’s expulsion from the Malayan federation, the country’s founding fathers adopted a distinct strategic doctrine. It was anchored in two key tenets – the importance of pragmatism in dealing with larger neighbours as well as the recognition of existential vulnerability to external threats.

A couple wearing face masks walk past the Merlion statue in Singapore on March 14, 2020. Singapore’s strategic doctrine has been anchored in two key tenets – the importance of pragmatism in dealing with larger neighbours as well as the recognition of existential vulnerability to external threats.Photo: AP

The upshot of this strategic doctrine, which was institutionalised by Lee and his foreign minister Sinnathamby Rajaratnam, was a sophisticated, non-aligned foreign policy. As Lee declared in the thick of the Cold War, “We are non-aligned if we are asked to choose between competing power blocs.”


The end of the Cold War, however, saw Singapore gradually transform into America’s most reliable partner in the region for three key reasons. First, Singapore has served as a bridge between post-Mao China and the West, deftly nudging both sides to converge around capitalist prosperity.

Lee, a Cambridge-educated barrister who assiduously worked on his Mandarin, influenced Chinese leaders from Deng Xiaoping to Xi Jinping across the decades. Singapore’s successful combination of capitalism and illiberal politics served an inspiration for a whole generation of Chinese leaders, who oversaw an unprecedented era of market reforms.


This is why, upon Lee’s passing in 2015, China’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement hailing the Singaporean leader as “a uniquely influential statesman in Asia and a strategist embodying Oriental values and international vision”.

Singapore has continued to play this indispensable role under its current prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, who has consistently warned against a new Cold War which would “be bad, not just for other countries big and small, but for both America and China, too”.

Lee Kuan Yew: life and legacy​

In fact, a whole host of US presidents from Richard Nixon to Joe Biden have relied on Singaporean leaders’ advice, treating their views as a bellwether for understanding broader geopolitical trends in Asia.

But what makes Singapore even more important to Washington is the rapid expansion in bilateral defence cooperation in recent decades. Historically, the US has relied on Southeast Asian treaty allies such as the Philippines, which hosted America’s largest overseas bases throughout the 20th century, to project power in the region.

But the Philippines proved too fickle for the US, which lamented the expulsion of American forces from the island nation amid an upsurge of Filipino nationalist sentiments in the early 1990s. It was precisely at this juncture that Singapore offered to host some of America’s military assets, setting the stage for a new era of intimate and consequential defence cooperation.

Thanks to a series of key defence deals – from the Memorandum of Understanding in 1990 to the Strategic Framework Agreement in 2005 and the 2019 Protocol of Amendment to the 1990 MOU – the US and Singapore have rapidly upgraded their military cooperation. Since 2016, the two sides have finalised almost US$40 billion in bilateral defence deals.

In Singapore, US VP Harris talks about South China Sea, US exit from Afghanistan and Covid-19

Today, Singapore is the only Southeast Asian country with access to the US-made F-35 fighter jets, while US littoral combat ships enjoy access to designated facilities in the strategically located city state. In the words of one US official, Singapore is a partner that acts like an ally.

Despite its commitment to non-alignment, the city state has tended to tilt towards the US. After all, Singapore has relied on and benefited from America’s naval prowess, which ensures a high degree of freedom of commerce and navigation in Asian waters.

Even so, Singapore has always been careful to not fully alienate China. To this end, the city state has offered Beijing reciprocal strategic agreements, including the 2008 Agreement on Defence Exchanges and Security Cooperation, which was upgraded in 2019. Though not as consequential as Singapore’s defence deals with Washington, this series of reciprocal agreements have largely managed to mollify China’s fears of a full Singaporean alignment with the West.

Finally, Singapore, a key member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, has also emerged as an anchor of regional peace and stability. A host to major global conferences such as the annual Shangri-La Dialogue and equipped with state-of-the-art naval forces, the city state is a regional power that consistently emphasises the importance of international law and a rules-based order in Asia.

Some pundits have even begun to discuss the growing role of a “Squad”, with Singapore operating in tandem with Quadrilateral Security Dialogue members Australia, India, Japan and the US in preserving a free and open order in the region. As Lee said while giving the 2009 S. Rajaratnam Lecture, Singapore should always remain a major contributor to regional stability so that major powers “have an interest in our continued survival and prosperity as a sovereign and independent nation”.

The Biden administration might have skipped inviting Singapore to the summit for democracies. But with two cabinet-level US officials visiting the city state within a span of two months earlier this year amid rapidly growing defence and strategic cooperation, there is little doubt as to who is America’s undeclared ally in Asia.

https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinio...rimp-singapore-became-us-undeclared-ally-asia

 

[syed putra]

SG army can't fight lah. think SG can't even fight one month of artillery battle against Malaysia without negotiating peace.

Sg don't really need to fight. Why you think they have US naval and possibly airbase 9n the island?
At the same time, benefit from money laundering from china by means of investments. Now that hong kong is unsafe for them.

 

[nightsafari]

Richard Heydarian

How ‘poisonous shrimp’ Singapore became the US’ undeclared ally in Asia​

• The city state has deftly fortified strategic ties with the West while remaining a trusted interlocutor to and top investor in China
• Although it was overlooked for the US’ upcoming democracy summit, Singapore remains America’s most reliable strategic partner in Southeast Asia

Illustration: Craig Stephens

“In a world where the big fish eat small fish and the small fish eat shrimps, Singapore must become a poisonous shrimp,” former Singaporean prime minister Lee Kuan Yew said in a famous 1966 speech. Bereft of allies and surrounded by hostile neighbours at the height of the Cold War, Lee made a passionate plea for steadfastness and self-reliance in face of danger.

Half a century later, Singapore has transformed into a 21st-century Sparta, respected by major powers and boasting one of the world’s most well-equipped armed forces. Thus, the Biden administration’s decision to snub Singapore, among other Southeast Asian states, for its upcoming Summit for Democracy has raised some eyebrows.

But what is often overlooked about Singapore is its quiet yet steady emergence as America’s most reliable strategic partner in Southeast Asia. Remarkably, the city state has fortified strategic ties with the West while remaining a trusted interlocutor to and top investor in China, underscoring Singapore’s diplomatic finesse.

Following Singapore’s expulsion from the Malayan federation, the country’s founding fathers adopted a distinct strategic doctrine. It was anchored in two key tenets – the importance of pragmatism in dealing with larger neighbours as well as the recognition of existential vulnerability to external threats.

A couple wearing face masks walk past the Merlion statue in Singapore on March 14, 2020. Singapore’s strategic doctrine has been anchored in two key tenets – the importance of pragmatism in dealing with larger neighbours as well as the recognition of existential vulnerability to external threats.Photo: AP

The upshot of this strategic doctrine, which was institutionalised by Lee and his foreign minister Sinnathamby Rajaratnam, was a sophisticated, non-aligned foreign policy. As Lee declared in the thick of the Cold War, “We are non-aligned if we are asked to choose between competing power blocs.”


The end of the Cold War, however, saw Singapore gradually transform into America’s most reliable partner in the region for three key reasons. First, Singapore has served as a bridge between post-Mao China and the West, deftly nudging both sides to converge around capitalist prosperity.

Lee, a Cambridge-educated barrister who assiduously worked on his Mandarin, influenced Chinese leaders from Deng Xiaoping to Xi Jinping across the decades. Singapore’s successful combination of capitalism and illiberal politics served an inspiration for a whole generation of Chinese leaders, who oversaw an unprecedented era of market reforms.


This is why, upon Lee’s passing in 2015, China’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement hailing the Singaporean leader as “a uniquely influential statesman in Asia and a strategist embodying Oriental values and international vision”.

Singapore has continued to play this indispensable role under its current prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, who has consistently warned against a new Cold War which would “be bad, not just for other countries big and small, but for both America and China, too”.

Lee Kuan Yew: life and legacy​

In fact, a whole host of US presidents from Richard Nixon to Joe Biden have relied on Singaporean leaders’ advice, treating their views as a bellwether for understanding broader geopolitical trends in Asia.

But what makes Singapore even more important to Washington is the rapid expansion in bilateral defence cooperation in recent decades. Historically, the US has relied on Southeast Asian treaty allies such as the Philippines, which hosted America’s largest overseas bases throughout the 20th century, to project power in the region.

But the Philippines proved too fickle for the US, which lamented the expulsion of American forces from the island nation amid an upsurge of Filipino nationalist sentiments in the early 1990s. It was precisely at this juncture that Singapore offered to host some of America’s military assets, setting the stage for a new era of intimate and consequential defence cooperation.

Thanks to a series of key defence deals – from the Memorandum of Understanding in 1990 to the Strategic Framework Agreement in 2005 and the 2019 Protocol of Amendment to the 1990 MOU – the US and Singapore have rapidly upgraded their military cooperation. Since 2016, the two sides have finalised almost US$40 billion in bilateral defence deals.

In Singapore, US VP Harris talks about South China Sea, US exit from Afghanistan and Covid-19

Today, Singapore is the only Southeast Asian country with access to the US-made F-35 fighter jets, while US littoral combat ships enjoy access to designated facilities in the strategically located city state. In the words of one US official, Singapore is a partner that acts like an ally.

Despite its commitment to non-alignment, the city state has tended to tilt towards the US. After all, Singapore has relied on and benefited from America’s naval prowess, which ensures a high degree of freedom of commerce and navigation in Asian waters.

Even so, Singapore has always been careful to not fully alienate China. To this end, the city state has offered Beijing reciprocal strategic agreements, including the 2008 Agreement on Defence Exchanges and Security Cooperation, which was upgraded in 2019. Though not as consequential as Singapore’s defence deals with Washington, this series of reciprocal agreements have largely managed to mollify China’s fears of a full Singaporean alignment with the West.

Finally, Singapore, a key member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, has also emerged as an anchor of regional peace and stability. A host to major global conferences such as the annual Shangri-La Dialogue and equipped with state-of-the-art naval forces, the city state is a regional power that consistently emphasises the importance of international law and a rules-based order in Asia.

Some pundits have even begun to discuss the growing role of a “Squad”, with Singapore operating in tandem with Quadrilateral Security Dialogue members Australia, India, Japan and the US in preserving a free and open order in the region. As Lee said while giving the 2009 S. Rajaratnam Lecture, Singapore should always remain a major contributor to regional stability so that major powers “have an interest in our continued survival and prosperity as a sovereign and independent nation”.

The Biden administration might have skipped inviting Singapore to the summit for democracies. But with two cabinet-level US officials visiting the city state within a span of two months earlier this year amid rapidly growing defence and strategic cooperation, there is little doubt as to who is America’s undeclared ally in Asia.

https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinio...rimp-singapore-became-us-undeclared-ally-asia

Wow! This guy can really cook up a curry with two twigs.

First of all, he's way off the mark. Either his Greek history is totally fucked up or he doesn't know anything about singapore. Both may be true.

Singapore is no Sparta. It's more like Samos. Samos was an island with a strategic position in the Aegean Sea. It was built up by a tyrant who achieved some impressive public infrastructure works and capitalized on it's position by being a trading port. They also flip flop sides and suck up to whoever's strongest. Then they used their trading money to build more public works to impress others. Sound familiar?

Sparta on the other hand was one of the largest city states in area. Spartan boys were bred from birth to be warriors. The mothers told their sons to either come home victorious or dead. No need to have their maids carry their war equipment for them. They lived a basic and brutal lifestyle. Hard work, no luxuries. The boys had to live in barracks from a young age and fights between them were encouraged. Little food was supposedly given to harden them. Look at the average overweight sinkie. Sound like sinkapore to you?

As someone else said. A big article with a lot of stuff with no meaning. Factually wrong blather.

@nirvarq, you're stuff usually better than this. what happened. kong tao ah?

 

[A Singaporean]

Singapore is able to taken on both jiuhu and indon at the same time. Our military training and equipment is meant for that scenario.



A lot of our weapons are made domestically by Singapore Technologies and ST Kinetics.

SAF is a joke. Maids can do better.

 

[JohnTan]

SAF is a joke. Maids can do better.

Clearly the jiuhu and indon militaries, as well as the pirates in the Straits don't agree. They are welcome to test the SAF's resolve to defend Singapore.

 

[Papsmearer]

Usually, I enjoy reading SCMP articles, but this one is so far off the mark and not even close. Then I realize the author Richard Heydarian is Peenoise. THat made total sense as they all have shit for brains. Sinkieland is no sparta. Sparta at its peak was feared because of its well trained, tough and professional, battle hardened army. No one is afraid of NSmen softies let by scholar generals. This moron author keeps bringing up all the arms deals between the US and sinkieland as a sign of the deep mutual cooperation. Well, its all one sided. They sell us their weapons and we give them our money. They never buy anything from us to make the trade more fair. What kind of fucking realtionship is this when its so one sided?

 

[k1976]

Richard Heydarian

How ‘poisonous shrimp’ Singapore became the US’ undeclared ally in Asia​

• The city state has deftly fortified strategic ties with the West while remaining a trusted interlocutor to and top investor in China
• Although it was overlooked for the US’ upcoming democracy summit, Singapore remains America’s most reliable strategic partner in Southeast Asia

Illustration: Craig Stephens

“In a world where the big fish eat small fish and the small fish eat shrimps, Singapore must become a poisonous shrimp,” former Singaporean prime minister Lee Kuan Yew said in a famous 1966 speech. Bereft of allies and surrounded by hostile neighbours at the height of the Cold War, Lee made a passionate plea for steadfastness and self-reliance in face of danger.

Half a century later, Singapore has transformed into a 21st-century Sparta, respected by major powers and boasting one of the world’s most well-equipped armed forces. Thus, the Biden administration’s decision to snub Singapore, among other Southeast Asian states, for its upcoming Summit for Democracy has raised some eyebrows.

But what is often overlooked about Singapore is its quiet yet steady emergence as America’s most reliable strategic partner in Southeast Asia. Remarkably, the city state has fortified strategic ties with the West while remaining a trusted interlocutor to and top investor in China, underscoring Singapore’s diplomatic finesse.

Following Singapore’s expulsion from the Malayan federation, the country’s founding fathers adopted a distinct strategic doctrine. It was anchored in two key tenets – the importance of pragmatism in dealing with larger neighbours as well as the recognition of existential vulnerability to external threats.

A couple wearing face masks walk past the Merlion statue in Singapore on March 14, 2020. Singapore’s strategic doctrine has been anchored in two key tenets – the importance of pragmatism in dealing with larger neighbours as well as the recognition of existential vulnerability to external threats.Photo: AP

The upshot of this strategic doctrine, which was institutionalised by Lee and his foreign minister Sinnathamby Rajaratnam, was a sophisticated, non-aligned foreign policy. As Lee declared in the thick of the Cold War, “We are non-aligned if we are asked to choose between competing power blocs.”


The end of the Cold War, however, saw Singapore gradually transform into America’s most reliable partner in the region for three key reasons. First, Singapore has served as a bridge between post-Mao China and the West, deftly nudging both sides to converge around capitalist prosperity.

Lee, a Cambridge-educated barrister who assiduously worked on his Mandarin, influenced Chinese leaders from Deng Xiaoping to Xi Jinping across the decades. Singapore’s successful combination of capitalism and illiberal politics served an inspiration for a whole generation of Chinese leaders, who oversaw an unprecedented era of market reforms.


This is why, upon Lee’s passing in 2015, China’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement hailing the Singaporean leader as “a uniquely influential statesman in Asia and a strategist embodying Oriental values and international vision”.

Singapore has continued to play this indispensable role under its current prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, who has consistently warned against a new Cold War which would “be bad, not just for other countries big and small, but for both America and China, too”.

Lee Kuan Yew: life and legacy​

In fact, a whole host of US presidents from Richard Nixon to Joe Biden have relied on Singaporean leaders’ advice, treating their views as a bellwether for understanding broader geopolitical trends in Asia.

But what makes Singapore even more important to Washington is the rapid expansion in bilateral defence cooperation in recent decades. Historically, the US has relied on Southeast Asian treaty allies such as the Philippines, which hosted America’s largest overseas bases throughout the 20th century, to project power in the region.

But the Philippines proved too fickle for the US, which lamented the expulsion of American forces from the island nation amid an upsurge of Filipino nationalist sentiments in the early 1990s. It was precisely at this juncture that Singapore offered to host some of America’s military assets, setting the stage for a new era of intimate and consequential defence cooperation.

Thanks to a series of key defence deals – from the Memorandum of Understanding in 1990 to the Strategic Framework Agreement in 2005 and the 2019 Protocol of Amendment to the 1990 MOU – the US and Singapore have rapidly upgraded their military cooperation. Since 2016, the two sides have finalised almost US$40 billion in bilateral defence deals.

In Singapore, US VP Harris talks about South China Sea, US exit from Afghanistan and Covid-19

Today, Singapore is the only Southeast Asian country with access to the US-made F-35 fighter jets, while US littoral combat ships enjoy access to designated facilities in the strategically located city state. In the words of one US official, Singapore is a partner that acts like an ally.

Despite its commitment to non-alignment, the city state has tended to tilt towards the US. After all, Singapore has relied on and benefited from America’s naval prowess, which ensures a high degree of freedom of commerce and navigation in Asian waters.

Even so, Singapore has always been careful to not fully alienate China. To this end, the city state has offered Beijing reciprocal strategic agreements, including the 2008 Agreement on Defence Exchanges and Security Cooperation, which was upgraded in 2019. Though not as consequential as Singapore’s defence deals with Washington, this series of reciprocal agreements have largely managed to mollify China’s fears of a full Singaporean alignment with the West.

Finally, Singapore, a key member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, has also emerged as an anchor of regional peace and stability. A host to major global conferences such as the annual Shangri-La Dialogue and equipped with state-of-the-art naval forces, the city state is a regional power that consistently emphasises the importance of international law and a rules-based order in Asia.

Some pundits have even begun to discuss the growing role of a “Squad”, with Singapore operating in tandem with Quadrilateral Security Dialogue members Australia, India, Japan and the US in preserving a free and open order in the region. As Lee said while giving the 2009 S. Rajaratnam Lecture, Singapore should always remain a major contributor to regional stability so that major powers “have an interest in our continued survival and prosperity as a sovereign and independent nation”.

The Biden administration might have skipped inviting Singapore to the summit for democracies. But with two cabinet-level US officials visiting the city state within a span of two months earlier this year amid rapidly growing defence and strategic cooperation, there is little doubt as to who is America’s undeclared ally in Asia.

https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinio...rimp-singapore-became-us-undeclared-ally-asia

Yeah, SG has always punching above its weight class due to continuos self innovation and meritocracy de woh

 

[Loofydralb]

What really remains unsaid when everyone lauds you as the middle man, is the explicit knowledge from both sides that they really cannot trust you during crunch time when the shit hit the fan.