Singapore To Continue Training in India

Singapore will use military facilities in India for exercise and training of its troops for another five years.

The June 4 agreement was signed in Singapore by new Indian Defense Secretary Radha Krishna Mathur and Chiang Chie Foo, the Singaporean permanent secretary of defense .

Singapore is the only country that India has offered its facilities to for training and its land for exercises, said an Indian Ministry of Defense official.

“The agreement for training and exercises of Singapore Air Force in India was extended up to October 2017 during the visit of Singapore’s Permanent Secretary of Defense to India in July last year,” says the official Defense Ministry release.

India and Singapore first inked a five-year defense cooperation pact in 2007 allowing Singapore troops to exercise regularly on Indian territory and airspace.

Singapore has used Indian artillery bases in the central Indian state of Maharashtra for training purposes and the air forces of the two countries have held joint drills.

“Singapore is of strategic importance for India, as part of its look east policy and efforts to contain the growing influence of China in the region,” says Nitin Mehta, New Delhi-based defense analyst.


Source: By VIVEK RAGHUVANSHI, NEW DELHI — defensenews.com News - 4 June 2013

Photo: The Singapore-India-Joint Air Forces Training end. The eighth Indo-Singapore Joint Military Training (JMT) between Indian Air Force (IAF) and Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), held annually at Air Force Station, Kalaikunda, West Bengal, concluded on Friday. The JMT earlier began on October 16.The JMT held under a bilateral agreement signed between the two countries help both Air Forces gain greater understanding of each other's concept of operations. The first JMT was held in 2006. IAF Su-30 MKI and MiG-27 aircraft participated together with RSAF F-16D Block 52+ Fighting Falcons during the six week, day-night joint drills. The RSAF detachment comprised 30 officers and 87 personnel. (Photo by SAF)


(4.06.2013)