S'pore, RI hold joint exercises<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (Reuter): Singapore's top military officer said
\nyesterday the country must be ready to cope with any threats to
\nregional stability.<\/p>\n
Lt. Gen. Bey Soo Khiang, chief of Singapore's Defense Forces,
\nwas speaking as Singapore opened bi-annual exercises with the
\nIndonesian navy.<\/p>\n
\"From an SAF (Singapore Armed Forces) perspective, there are
\nreally no immediate threats,\" Bey told Reuters in an interview.<\/p>\n
\"But what we want to say is that a threat can be realized or
\ncan rear its ugly head very quickly...like the Taiwan Strait
\ncrisis,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Tensions rose last March when war games and missile tests by
\nChina in waters off Taiwan cast a shadow over the island's first
\npresidential election.<\/p>\n
Washington then ordered two aircraft carrier battle groups
\ninto the area, triggering a row with Beijing, which suspected the
\nUnited States was supporting what China saw as Nationalist-ruled
\nTaiwan's moves towards independence.<\/p>\n
\"So the SAF cannot wait for threats to be realized. We have to
\nanticipate, think ahead and try and build a well-balanced,
\ncapable SAF, able to respond to various forms of flashpoints or
\nthreats,\" Bey said.<\/p>\n
The SAF must accomplish its mission at a time when the
\nmanpower supply in Singapore is very tight. He said Singapore's
\nstrong economic growth has made retention of military personnel
\ndifficult at times.<\/p>\n
\"We just have to be realistic and face the situation and think
\nof creative solutions to go around the problem,\" Bey said, adding
\nthat one way is greater use of automation in military operations.<\/p>\n
Units of the Singapore and Indonesian navies opened yesterday
\nthe 14th bi-annual naval exercise between the two countries. The
\nexercise, called Ex Eagle, will end in Jakarta on Nov. 26, a
\njoint statement by the two navies said.<\/p>\n
The ships will hold their exercises in the Singapore Strait,
\nSouth China Sea and Java Sea. It will conduct day and night
\nencounter exercises, anti-submarine warfare, a minefield transit
\nexercise and practice surface target firing.<\/p>\n
The Singaporean navy will be led by two missile corvettes and
\none navy gunboat, among others. The Indonesian navy will be
\nrepresented by a patrol ship and two torpedo patrol boats.<\/p>\n
More than 500 sailors and officers from the two countries will
\ntake part in the naval exercise.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/spore-ri-hold-joint-exercises-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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