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[h=2]Singapore’s 2011 defence budget dwarfed everyone else in SE Asia[/h]
October 9th, 2012 |
Author: Online Press
Reuters- Oct 7, 2012
Indonesia is buying submarines from South Korea and coastal radar systems from China and the United States. Vietnam is getting submarines and combat jets from Russia, while Singapore – the world’s fifth-largest weapons importer – is adding to its sophisticated arsenal.
Wary of China and flush with economic success, Southeast Asia is ramping up spending on military hardware to protect the shipping lanes, ports and maritime boundaries that are vital to the flow of exports and energy.
Territorial disputes in the South China Sea, fuelled by the promise of rich oil and gas deposits, have prompted Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei to try to offset China’s growing naval power.
Even for those away from that fray, maritime security has been a major focus for Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.
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But the region’s biggest spender with the best-equipped military is Singapore, a tiny island that is home to the world’s second-busiest container port, a global financial centre and a major hub for oil, gas and petrochemicals.
The wealthy city-state, along with Malaysia and Indonesia, sits on the Strait of Malacca that links the Pacific and Indian oceans. A teeming shipping route, the strait is also a narrow “choke point” with huge strategic implications for the energy, raw materials and finished goods flowing east and west.
At $9.66 billion, Singapore’s 2011 defence budget dwarfed Thailand’s $5.52 billion, Indonesia’s $5.42 billion, Malaysia’s $4.54 billion and Vietnam’s $2.66 billion, IISS says.
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Read more here: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012...&feedType=RSS&feedName=rbssEnergyNews&rpc=401
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Reuters- Oct 7, 2012
Indonesia is buying submarines from South Korea and coastal radar systems from China and the United States. Vietnam is getting submarines and combat jets from Russia, while Singapore – the world’s fifth-largest weapons importer – is adding to its sophisticated arsenal.
Wary of China and flush with economic success, Southeast Asia is ramping up spending on military hardware to protect the shipping lanes, ports and maritime boundaries that are vital to the flow of exports and energy.
Territorial disputes in the South China Sea, fuelled by the promise of rich oil and gas deposits, have prompted Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei to try to offset China’s growing naval power.
Even for those away from that fray, maritime security has been a major focus for Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.
.
But the region’s biggest spender with the best-equipped military is Singapore, a tiny island that is home to the world’s second-busiest container port, a global financial centre and a major hub for oil, gas and petrochemicals.
The wealthy city-state, along with Malaysia and Indonesia, sits on the Strait of Malacca that links the Pacific and Indian oceans. A teeming shipping route, the strait is also a narrow “choke point” with huge strategic implications for the energy, raw materials and finished goods flowing east and west.
At $9.66 billion, Singapore’s 2011 defence budget dwarfed Thailand’s $5.52 billion, Indonesia’s $5.42 billion, Malaysia’s $4.54 billion and Vietnam’s $2.66 billion, IISS says.
.
Read more here: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012...&feedType=RSS&feedName=rbssEnergyNews&rpc=401
.