Page 44 - Australian Defence Magazine July-August 2022

44 INFRASTRUCTURE ASMTI
JULY-AUGUST 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
SINGAPORE INCREASES LOCAL TRAINING FOOTPRINT
MIKE YEO | MELBOURNE
The island nation of Singapore has maintained close defence relationships with Australia since it became independent in 1965. Following its expulsion from Malaysia, Australia was among the first to recognise Singapore’s independence and defence relations between both countries have grown predominantly under the umbrella of the Five Power Defence Arrangement (FPDA).
THE FPDA is a series of bilateral defence relationships es- tablished by multi-lateral agreements between Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the UK signed in 1971 that will see the five countries consulting each other "immediately" in the event or threat of an armed attack on any of the members.
It must be noted however, there is no specific commit- ment for members to intervene militarily on behalf of one another, as the agreement is merely consultative. It also no- tably does not include the respective Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) and the enforcement of a state's EEZ rights re- main a matter for that state – although a state may request the assistance of other states in so doing.
The FPDA umbrella has allowed member militaries to
foster closer relations in also providing for the conduct of joint exercises that take place annually and in the specific case of Australia and Singapore, has allowed both countries to foster close defence ties.
This included the stationing of ADF assets in Singapore, in the form of a detachment of RAAF Mirage III fighters at Tengah Airbase until 1983. It has also paved the way for ADF ships and aircraft to use Singapore as a port of call to stage from.
TRAINING IN AUSTRALIA
One of the things a visitor to Singapore will quickly notice is its small size as well as its high degree of ur- banisation. The main island is only just over 700 square