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Possible training facility on Guam will be ‘significant boost’ for RSAF

WASHINGTON, DC — Singapore’s air training space and military ties with the United States will be expanded if discussions for training opportunities in Guam in the western Pacific are finalised, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

The SAF medical team administered aid in Afghanistan in 2009. It was recently announced that soldiers from the SAF’s Army Deployment Force would join a medical team in Iraq as part of its contribution towards global efforts to defeat IS. Photo: Mindef

The SAF medical team administered aid in Afghanistan in 2009. It was recently announced that soldiers from the SAF’s Army Deployment Force would join a medical team in Iraq as part of its contribution towards global efforts to defeat IS. Photo: Mindef

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WASHINGTON, DC — Singapore’s air training space and military ties with the United States will be expanded if discussions for training opportunities in Guam in the western Pacific are finalised, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

“(Our) Air Force is always looking for opportunities to expand its training options because we are so airspace-constrained in Singapore,” Mr Lee told the Singapore media on Wednesday morning (Aug 3, US local time) as he wound up a four-day official visit the US.

“We have fighter training in America, flying training in Australia — we have a flying training school there, we have got a facility in France in Bordeaux. Guam, geographically, is a bit closer than these places.”

He said with the American forces stationed in Guam, “there is a good possibility of us working together with them, and developing a training facility there”, adding that discussions concerning the deployment are still in the preliminary stages.

In a wide-ranging joint statement on Tuesday, Singapore and the US said they are exploring the possibility of the Singapore Armed Forces conducting training in the US territory of Guam in the western Pacific.

The statement gave few details, but said both countries were eyeing “a potential long-term training detachment” for the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF). 

Both President Barack Obama and Mr Lee expressed support for efforts to explore the new training opportunities, the statement added.

Guam, a US island territory strategically located in the Western Pacific, has long been a station for passing jets and submarines and is a linchpin in Washington’s pivot to the Asia-Pacific region. Plans are afoot, according to US media reports, to turn the island into a hub for about 5,000 US Marines who will be tasked with responding to conflicts and disasters in East Asia.

“Training in Guam would be positive for the RSAF due to distance and environment. Deployment in Guam means shorter transport, both for equipment and personnel, and it would save some budget,” said Dr Wu Shang-Su, a research fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies’ (RSIS) military studies programme. “Furthermore, the detachment is more likely to be sent back home as reinforcements in a crisis. A maritime and tropical climate would be closer to Singapore than sites on the American continent.”

Mr David Boey, a member of the Ministry of Defence (Mindef)’s Advisory Council on Community Relations in Defence noted that if the arrangement is finalised, Singapore is likely to be the first South-east Asia nation to deploy its airpower for a protracted period on Guam.

He added: “This speaks volumes of the trust and goodwill between Singapore and the US — which already hosts the largest number of Republic of Singapore Air Force detachments.”

In the joint statement issued by the two countries, Singapore also expressed “continued interest” in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, a development welcomed by Mr Obama. 

The F-35 is a state-of-the-art aircraft which can travel at nearly twice the speed of sound and is designed to be nearly invisible to enemy radar.  

The Republic is considering whether it will be the vanguard of its air force’s future fleet, and analysts told TODAY it is a matter of time before a deal is inked.  

“The F-35 is, in my opinion, pretty much a done deal. It is a question of when, not if, the RSAF will acquire the aircraft,” said Dr Bernard Loo, an associate professor at the RSIS’ Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies.

“Having been a participant in the project from its early days, too much has been sunk into the project to abandon it. Plus, there are some signs that the F-35 will actually work as advertised, albeit at a likely higher price than initially advertised.”

The F-35 programme has been plagued by technical issues as well as cost overruns, resulting in delays in production. But the US Air Force said this week that a batch of F-35A models is ready for combat, in what could be a major boost to the Pentagon’s most expensive arms development project.  

Still, analysts believe it may be some time before Singapore signs on to it. “Firstly, the operational performance of F-35 requires time to prove. According to Singapore’s prudent attitude of military modernisation, the risks of new technology may not be welcomed, not to mention the high costs of procurement and maintenance,” said Dr Wu. 

“Secondly, as the fifth generation fighters, purchasing F-35 would be the first in the region and it may disturb the regional arms dynamics,” he added, noting how Singapore introduced F-16 simultaneously with Thailand in the 1980s and obtained F-15 after Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia acquired the equivalent Sukhoi Su-30. 

Experts say if both the Guam deployment and F-35 deal come to pass, they would likely raise a few hackles among Singapore’s neighbours, but this is something that Singapore would have expected.

“Guam is something that will make Singapore appear more and more in the US camp, especially with reference to Sino-US relations,” said Assoc Prof Loo. “China will not be overly happy with it, but that again is something that Mindef will likely have anticipated.”

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