According to media reports, in the first half of 2024, the Singapore Armed Forces increased the frequency of bilateral military exercises and held joint military exercises with Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and Thailand, intending to establish closer military and diplomatic ties with other countries in the region by demonstrating its military projection capabilities and mission execution capabilities, thereby consolidating its image and status as a “proactive regional partner”.
According to reports, Singapore faced great defense pressure after independence, began to implement the “all-people soldier” policy, and invested a lot of money in purchasing military equipment, gradually developing into one of the main armed forces in ASEAN. In order to show its military strength to the outside world and improve its ability to deal with non-traditional security issues such as terrorism, piracy and natural disasters, Singapore has frequently held bilateral military exercises with neighboring countries in recent years. For example, in 2023, Singapore and Malaysia held the 31st “Malapura” exercise to strengthen the anti-piracy capabilities of both sides in the Strait of Malacca. In the same year, the armies of Singapore and Malaysia held urban combat exercises to enhance urban combat and counter-terrorism capabilities. In May this year, the Singapore Air Force and the Royal Malaysian Air Force held the sixth “Marsin” search and rescue exercise, practicing searching for survivors and conducting medical evacuations near the Tioman Islands. Subsequently, the two countries conducted live-fire urban combat exercises.
According to reports, the Singapore Armed Forces hopes to receive training in a wider, more diverse and more realistic environment through bilateral military exercises and drills, and more importantly, to demonstrate Singapore’s military projection capabilities in the face of crises and strengthen its deterrence posture to a certain extent. Deterrence and diplomacy are the two cornerstones of Singapore’s defense policy, and the two complement each other – diplomacy is more effective with the support of credible deterrence, and deterrence can also be achieved through diplomacy and negotiations.