Military history of Singapore

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Contents 1 Colonial period 2 World War II 3 Post-WWII 3.1 Konfrontasi 4 Post-independence 5 Start of the defense industry 6 Peacetime emergency 7 Humanitarian aid 8 Peacekeeping in Iraq 9 Peacekeeping in East Timor 10 See also 11 References 12 External links

[edit] Colonial period

[edit] World War II

• Battle of Bukit Timah
• Battle of Sarimbun Beach
• Battle of Singapore
• Japanese Occupation of Singapore
• The Battle Box

[edit] Post-WWII

[edit] Konfrontasi

See also: Konfrontasi

http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/about_us/history/birth_of_saf/v01n09_history.html

[edit] Post-independence

See also: National Service in Singapore

After Singapore's independence on 9 August 1965, strained ties with the two immediate neighbors, Malaysia and Indonesia made defense a high priority. Then-PM Lee Kuan Yew appointed Goh Keng Swee to head the new Ministry of Interior and Defence. In 1966, drawing from the Israeli model, National Service was determined the best way to provide for a deterrent to potential aggressors.

The first cohorts of officers and non-commissioned officers (now Specialists), taught by Israeli instructors, graduated from Singapore Armed Forces Training Institute (SAFTI) in 1967. With this new cadre of leaders, army was expanded from the existing two infantry battalions to two brigades between 1967 and 1970. Efforts were made to ensure unit integrity by keeping the officers, NCOs, and men of reservist battalions together.

The Air Defence Command (now Republic of Singapore Air Force) was formed with the help of Royal Air Force in 1968. The first class of pilots receiving basic military training and general flying instructions in the new Flying Training School at Tengah Air Base, and fighter training in the UK.

The Maritime Command (now Republic of Singapore Navy) was based at Sentosa temporarily until permanent facilities at the now-defunct Brani Naval Base were ready. Two gunboats were built by the British and Germans in 1969; subsequent models were built locally, entering service in 1970. The the ex-USS Thrasher and USS Whippoorwill (commissioned RSS Jupiter and RSS Mercury) minesweepers and County-class tank landing ships were purchased from the United States subsequently.

[edit] Start of the defense industry

In 1967, the Sheng-Li Holding Company (Simplified Chinese: 胜利; pinyin: sheng li; translated: victory) was established under the Ministry of Defence to promote the local defense industry. By the 1970s, Singapore was producing small arms (the M-16) through Chartered Industries of Singapore (CIS) and small arms, mortar, and artillery ammunition through Chartered Ammunition Industries for local use and export. Sheng-Li Holdings was later restructured into Singapore Technologies (now Singapore Technologies Engineering) in 1989, the parent of ST Kinetics.^[1] ST Kinetics produces the indigenous SAR-21 and Bionix AFV today. Others, either locally designed or locally-owned designs, such as the Ultimax 100, SAR-80, SR-88, FH-88, and FH-2000 were also produced.

[edit] Peacetime emergency

• Hotel New World disaster
• Cable Car Tragedy, Singapore
• Singapore Airlines Flight 117
• Laju incident

[edit] Humanitarian aid

• The Taiwan Earthquake (1999)
• 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

[edit] Peacekeeping in Iraq

[edit] Peacekeeping in East Timor

http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/about_us/history/maturing_saf/v06n09_history.html(1999)

[edit] See also

[edit] References

1. ^ Federation of American Scientists, FH2000, accessed 11 Nov 2006.

• Barbara Leitch LePoer, A Country Study: Singapore, 2nd Edition (1991), Library of Congress. Accessed 11 Nov 2006.

[edit] External links