Singapore to Base More Planes in Australia
International Herald Tribune
January 17, 1996
Michael Richardson 

Lacking space of its own for military training, Singapore may station much of its air force in Australia over the next few years as the two governments expand their defense cooperation.

Officials said Tuesday that Australia was making final details of an arrangement that would enable Singapore to send up to 12 Super Puma helicopters to an army aviation base in northeastern Australia.

They said that Canberra had also approved in principle a plan for about 20 Singaporean A-4 Skyhawk fighter bombers to be based in Australia, although a location had yet to be agreed on.

In 1994, Singapore moved its air force flying training school to Pearce, in Western Australia, stationing 29 jet trainers and 150 servicemen there to take advantage of good year-round weather. Singapore also conducts armored corps training in northeastern Australia, storing tanks and armored personnel carriers there between exercises.

Since the island-state is small, it is short of land and airspace for military training. As a result, Singapore sends its armed forces to train on a regular basis in a number of countries, including Brunei, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia and the United States.

Analysts said that Australia, a vast island continent, was a particularly important training partner for the air force because of its proximity and abundant airspace. Darwin, in northern Australia, is only five hours flying time from Singapore.

Since it left the Malaysian federation in 1965, Singapore has adopted a "poison shrimp" policy by building up forces to deter attack and warn any potential aggressor that an attack would be met by counterblows.

Western military analysts say that Singapore's air force is probably the strongest in Southeast Asia. It includes 17 U.S.-made F-16 jet fighters, with 18 more on order; 75 locally upgraded Skyhawks; 38 F-5 fighters; four Hawkeye E-2C airborne early warning planes, and 20 Super Puma armed helicopters.

Increasingly close ties with Australia over a broad spectrum, from security to trade and investment, have paved the way for a wide-ranging bilateral accord, to be called the Singapore-Australia New Partnership.

Officials said that details of the accord would be announced formally on Wednesday when Paul Keating, the Australian prime minister, meets his Singaporean counterpart, Goh Chok Tong.

The partnership agreement is expected to encompass all major aspects of the relationship between the two governments.

It will help to consolidate the increasing integration of Australia in the Asian region, despite its predominantly European population.

Winding up a two-day visit to Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, Mr. Keating said that rapidly growing ties between Australia and Malaysia, especially in trade and investment, were helping to underpin warmer relations between the two governments after several spats in recent years.

An Australian company, Transfield Shipbuilding Pty., is bidding for a $1.5 billion contract to build 27 advanced naval patrol boats for the Malaysian Navy, one of the largest defense contracts in the region.

After meeting Mahathir bin Mohamad, the Malaysian prime minister, and his cabinet, Mr. Keating said "we talked about developing core shipbuilding technology."

Malaysian officials have said that Transfield is one of the front-runners for the contract because it had offered extensive Malaysian participation in design and construction of the ships.

Copyright © 2006 The International Herald Tribune