Singapore Armed Forces - Foreign Defence Relations

Foreign Defence Relations

Singapore is part of the Five Power Defence Arrangements, whose other members include the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia. Designed to replace the former defence role of the British in Singapore and Malaysia, the arrangement obligates members to consult in the event of external threat against Malaysia and Singapore.

Singapore has consistently supported a strong U.S. military presence in the Asia-Pacific region. In 1990, the U.S. and Singapore signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) which allows the U.S. access to Singapore facilities at Paya Lebar Air Base and the Sembawang wharves. Under the MOU, a U.S. Navy logistics unit was established in Singapore in 1992; U.S. fighter aircraft deploy periodically to Singapore for exercises, and a number of U.S. military vessels visit Singapore. The MOU was amended in 1999 to permit U.S. naval vessels to berth at Changi Naval Base, which was completed in early 2001.

Singapore's defence resources have also been used for international humanitarian aid missions. They included United Nations peacekeeping missions in areas such as Kosovo, Kuwait and East Timor, participation in the multi-national force in Iraq, sending military equipment and personnel to assist in the humanitarian rescue and relief efforts in the United States after Hurricane Katrina, and establishing medical and dental assets for use by the Afghan people. Several of the SAF's top officers have thus overseas operational military experience.