Close US-S'pore defence ties

FORT WORTH (Texas) -- Singapore and the United States enjoy many layers of links in defence -- from a very similar perception of Asia-Pacific security developments to training together in an exercise tougher than the Gulf war, to flying F-16 warplanes.

The Chief of Defence Force, Lieutenant-General Bey Soo Khiang, provided a profile of this strong relationship when he spoke with The Straits Times.

He was in Texas on Thursday to witness the rollout ceremony of Singapore's first F-16 fighter aircraft in the new C/D version.

"The US-Singapore relationship at the national level is anchored on a very common strategic perception of the Asia-Pacific, in terms of security developments.

"Of course at the defence level, the additional overlay is the mutual benefit derived from interacting with each other," he said.

A key interaction was the training of Singaporean pilots and technicians in the US, which provided airspace, realism and benchmarks, the defence chief said.

"The most critical thing is availability of airspace because in Singapore, this is highly constrained, and it's going to be looking worse downstream because the civilian air traffic is likely to grow," he added.

Airspace was essential for the kind of training done by the Republic of Singapore Air Force, mainly air-to-air and air-to-ground training.

Singapore takes part in very challenging exercises like Operation Red Flag, which can improve the survival rate of pilots in actual situations, studies show.

Many American pilots think Red Flag is tougher than the Gulf war.

Noted Lt-Gen Bey: "This kind of exercise gives our pilots operational realism, which improves their capability and confidence quite a bit."

Singapore takes part in Red Flag once a year and "we get involved in the full works", he said.

Singapore has a Chinook helicopter training detachment in Texas, and an F-16 squadron in Arizona, under the Peace Carvin agreement with the US.

A KC-135 air-to-air refueling aircraft unit will be set up in Kansas.

"The Peace Carvin arrangement is such that we operate almost like an American squadron under American leadership. So they treat us no differently," said the defence chief.

He added that the interaction and the broad perspective gained from training with the Americans would hopefully provide benchmarks for Singaporeans in terms of capability and performance.

"So all in all, the training in the US provides us with space and realism.

"Therefore we get quite a steep slope of learning, not only for our pilots but also for technicians."

And the links are set to deepen.

A new Peace Carvin III arrangement to extend training in the US is being explored. The new F-16C/Ds are being delivered. And Singapore has offered US navy ships access to its new Changi Naval Base. APR 11 1998

Published in the Straits Times. April 11, 1998