Some impressions about relations with Singapore:
1. Australia has close bilateral strategic relations with Singapore - see here and here. Part of the relationship goes down to Singapore and Australia being non-Muslim countries in a rather Muslim (eg. Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, southern Philippines) region. See MAP below.
Australia also has vast, relatively nearby, sea, air and land space to train in - while Singapore Island is tiny.
"The
Australia-Singapore Military Training Initiative (ASMTI) is an opportunity for
Australia to build Defence capability and enhance its bilateral relationship
with Singapore, while providing enduring economic benefits to Central and North
Queensland [Australia]" see June 2020 Factsheet.
Singapore's Defence Minister (since 2011) Dr. Ng Eng Hen trained as a medical doctor but clearly has a technical and political grasp of military matters above most ASEAN Defence Ministers. In his 2016 speech https://youtu.be/pFwcX4HfgO4?t=6m47s he mentions the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) in regards to Singapore's armed forces training in Australia's very large exercise areas.
2. Singapore has a logical, efficient weapons buying strategy and process. This can be correlated with Singapore's low level of corruption and minute size compared to occasionally threatening larger neighbours. In contrast some other regional countries (extending all the way to India) buy just a few weapons over excessively long (agonizingly slow) periods to maximise "commissions" across the board. While Australia is short on "commissions" promised private industry retirement positions (with substantial salary increases) suffice.
According to the reliable international Corruption Perceptions Index Singapore sits equal 4th (with Sweden and Switzerland) least corrupt internationally. This is behind NZ (1st), but better than Australia, UK, Canada (all equal 12th), US (23rd). Of some other ASEAN nations - Brunei (35th), Malaysia (51st), Indonesia (85th), Philippines (113th). India and China are joint 80th.
3. Australia and Singapore also interrelate due to common close bilateral relationships with the US (relationships even surviving the worldwide The 2016-2020 Trump Crisis - so far). See this prescient-still relevant Australian viewpoint.
4. Singapore's stable English speaking, pro-Western polity, British Commonwealth country, "close" to Israel, cutting edge (many weapons bought from US) military, sophisticated intelligence setup, shared threat from Islamic terrorism, all give Singapore a "Six Eye" status in relation to the Five Eyes alliance.
MAP. Find tiny Singapore (island) just south of the tip of mainland Malaysia. (Map courtesy and see it much enlarged at geographicguide.com)
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Hi Pete,
ReplyDeleteInteresting timing mentioning the Six Eye title, since articles came out recently from Japan wishing to be the sixth eye. Although I see the name "five eyes" often, I don't see anything related to how effective, or how close the intelligence communities actually are.
Is the Five Eyes community actually that close, and that effective? Or is it simply another group making an alliance with the powerful and wealthy USA?
Cheers,
Andrew
Hi Andrew
ReplyDeleteAnother way of seeing the Five Eyes is a structure that was first based around British naval intelligence including the far flung white, English speaking Dominions/Colonies - that once included the US.
The racial element is no longer there but the shared democratic legal-British Parliamentary heritage is still important.
"close"? maybe. It takes events like Snowden's revelations to perhaps reflect how close https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Snowden#Global_surveillance_disclosures
Regards
Pete
Australia-Singapore defense relations start from FPDA and expand from there. That’s a solid near fifty years of military cooperation and training,
ReplyDeleteHi Shawn C
ReplyDeleteVery true. The https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Power_Defence_Arrangements (FPDA) was a reaction to:
- the strategic withdrawal of British forces FROM east of Suez (including from what is now Singapore and Malaysia)
- the rise of communism in Southeast Asia and to
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia%E2%80%93Malaysia_confrontation
And before all that many serving and/or seconded UK RN officers dominated Singapore and Australian naval affairs. Many of the naval squadrons from Australia and Singapore belonged to the RN. They not only exercised together but they were part of the larger British Indo-Pacific operational hierarchy.
See RN in Australia 1788 onwards https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia_Station and in the Singapore area from the early 1800s onwards https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore_in_the_Straits_Settlements#Beginning_of_British_rule_in_Singapore
Cheers
Pete
Sadly by 2040-2050 the once great British navy will be small enough to drown in a bath tub and might very well revert to being the 'English navy' if the current set of shambolic bunglers do manage to engineer conditions facilitating Scotland's independence by 2040.
ReplyDeleteThe brexit omnishambles is merely the latest symptom of a relentlessly shrinking erstwhile 'empire' that once covered 25% of the earth.
As Jim Hacker observed so wrily in the 'Yes Minister' series of the mid 80s... 'we are sort of an American missile base'... this was circa 1985 and the decline of the royal navy continues even as we speak. Yes, They can produce Carriers, SSBNs and SSNs, but no longer 'own' their nuclear deterrence. Additionally, over time sustaining a defense budget capable of maintaining 8-12 N-subs and 2 carriers is going to prove likely very challenging
Hi ghalibkabir
ReplyDeleteEven if Scotland secedes - thus closing Faslane - I think even leftwing Labour MPs in England and Wales will open up their electorates to the prospect of hosting UK nuclear subs and the 2 carriers.
As in Adelaide, Australia, it is not the logic or ability of using subs/ships that counts so much as central government money for shipbuilding being sent to regions that need the money and votes.
Defence money equals votes. And even the public like big vessels (high defence spending) in times of crisis- Remember the Falklands!
Cheers
Pete
So does, I might remind the audience, the propensity for both Gov'ts to spy on each other! But it is an efficient sort of spying.
ReplyDeletePete, with long term economic prospects not so good, there is little to be achieved by the way of chucking pounds at Barrow-in-Furness to make SSNs...any fond delusions of grandeur by ginger mop head and his ghastly minions not withstanding.
ReplyDeleteCompared to Australia that has genuine needs for P-8s, Growlers, SIGINT Sats, SSNs and larger surface vessels, the UK is far too removed from Asia and thanks to grand politico-economic harakiri, it is viewed by EU-27 as the infected appendix of Europe and is about as useful too.
Hi ghalibkabir [August 27, 2020 at 8:44 PM]
ReplyDeleteRe UK "long term economic prospects not so good". Who knows!? The rest of the UK, without the economic drain of Scotland and inefficiencies of the EU, may do better economically than expected.
UK joint ventures for the Type 26 frigates with Canada and Australia will be a real earner for the UK see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_26_frigate#Partnerships Biggest UK defence export success since the Oberon subs.
An "independent" Scotland will need to buy London's defence and intelligence protection rather than just receiving it for free.
Cheers
Pete
The documents coming out of the EU and some papers from the UK that I have seen, makes me conclude otherwise. Independent Scotland will struggle, might have to peg its pound to the GBP while awaiting to join the EU queue. But over time, based on the research I have seen, Scotland might do ok. The possible rump UK situation is a bit more tricky.
ReplyDeleteService industry cost competitiveness, manufacturing resurgence etc are all doubtful for a possibly rump UK. EU and UK research papers repeatedly poke holes into this whole competitiveness idea. May be the rump UK might still be useful as a money laundering laundromat dressed up as the continuing vibrant financial capital of the region (while connection to the real economy/jobs stay tenuous), however, absent very credible plans for the agro, manufacturing and services sectors of the economy, ceteris paribus, I cannot understand how the rump UK will become a land of milk and honey as promised by the pink unicorn riding bojo of No 10 Downing Street.
Hi again ghalibkabir [at September 2, 2020 at 7:53 PM]
ReplyDeleteYes also I think North Sea oil has been kind to Scotland's economy - and may continue to be.
How do your define "rump UK"?
Yep London will continue to be a financial/Banking center - good for England at least.
England-Wales's hope that creating bilateral markets with major Commonwealth members (eg. Australia, Canada, NZ and India) may be no substitute for its old EU relationship.
Also England + Wales "competitive" (by EU standards) agricultural sector will perform poorly compared with Aus, Can's and NZ's
Or perhaps England will just make a deal with EU countries that continues to bring defacto EU benefits in most respects?
Pete