War Talk Intensifies Discord Between Malaysia & Singapore
Malaysia and Singapore are on the verge of an acute regional crisis with talks of “war” intensifying a strenuous discord over several unsettled issues between the two neighbors in South East Asia. Tiny Singapore, located south of Malaysia rebutted its Muslim neighbor with accusations of warmongering over a rocky Islet called the “Pedra Branca” or White Rock, which is under its control but is located well inside Malaysia’s territorial waters. Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said Monday January 27, 2003, that Singapore should think of the consequences of instigating their government over sensitive issues between both countries, particularly those with the “threat of war” angle, Bernama news agency reported.
However, Singapore officials flatly denied there was mention of “war” between the two neighbors over the disputed Islet. Its Foreign Affairs Minister S. Jayakumar simply described Malaysia’s claim to the island and its alleged right to patrol its waters as untenable, the Straits Times said Monday. He said Malaysia should stay away from the Island until its claim is decided by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), adding that it should respect the status quo, the Singapore paper added. Malaysia however, replied that it had no intention of abandoning the Island to Singapore and would continue its survey of the Pedra Branca by sending its navy vessels for monitoring. Malaysia does not recognize Singapore’s authority in the waters off the island, said Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad since the beginning of the tug of war between the neighbors. A few weeks ago, Malaysian newspapers discussed the possibility of a Military confrontation between the two nations, arguing that even though Singapore possessed the most sophisticated armaments, Malaysia still had a good chance face off its neighbor’s army. Military might has never been Malaysia’s best, despite the fact that the largely Muslim nation has invested heavily in the upgrading of its military equipment in the past few years. On Thursday Bernama indicated that Singapore, armed with the region’s most powerful air force, was now “shopping” for a new combat aircraft, a move that has intensified the arms race in the region. The Royal Singapore Air force (RSAF) is upgrading its air arsenal with the search for the latest in combat air planes from France called the Rafale MKII fighter. The RSAF is seeking a multi-role combat aircraft to replace its upgraded A-4 Super Skyhawks and, perhaps the F-5, and seem to have chosen the French fighter.
Although the RSAF requires an initial batch of 24 aircraft for delivery from 2007 to 2009, there have been reports that the consequent orders could swell to 40. The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) project has also drew much attention from the global defense players.
Malaysia is planning to obtain 16 to 18 new aircraft to complement the Russian MiG-29s, Boeing F/A-18D Hornets and British-made BAE Systems Hawk it currently deployed. Singapore has a very sophisticated military that is capable of inflicting swift damages to Malaysia; however Malaysia remains strong in its capacity to respond and might reverse any situation with guerilla warfare, a retired army major who preferred to stay anonymous told IslamOnline. He said Malaysia was “no more the sleeping duck” that could be bullied in terms of military conflicts since it has upgraded its military facilities. “They should think about it or they’ll regret it later,” Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Albar said at a media conference after launching the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Business Forum in Malaysia Monday. Albar was commenting on the move by Singapore’s Young People’s Action Party (PAP) to allowing citizens of the republic to discuss the possibility of war between Singapore and Malaysia openly on its official website. Albar said that it was irresponsible to talk about war. In Kuala Lumpur, some quarters are expecting an escalation in the disputes between the two nations with some observes saying that war would be inevitable if any of the two antagonists showed intransigence.
The Foreign Minister, better known as Syed Hamid, said that Malaysia, in the past, only mentioned about defending its right and sovereignty and nothing about war. Singaporeans noted this as a possible declaration of war if Malaysia felt its rights and sovereignty on Pedra Branca was violated.
Nevertheless, both countries are still stressing negotiations and if things do not work out, both nations said they preferred referring the matter to a third party for solution. “We have no intention of declaring war with Singapore or anybody and this is not because of anybody’s political influence, strength and weaponry but our principle of peace and prosperity by working together,” Albar said. Malaysia Singapore relations have been strained over a host of issues including the two agreements on Malaysia’s supply of water to Singapore and Pedra Branca. There is a move to resolve the water row through arbitration while the two countries are due to sign a pact on February 6 to refer the sovereignty issue of Pedra Branca, located just 7.7 nautical miles from Tanjung Penyusop in Johor and 25 nautical miles from Singapore’s east coast, to the ICJ, said Bernama. Singapore says it has owned Pedra Branca since the 1840s, when the British colonial government built Horsburgh Lighthouse there. It says that 1979, Malaysia staked a claim to the islet off Johor by putting it on a map of its territorial waters.
Source: Islam Online News (27th January, 2003)
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Battle for air dominance
Singapore’s New Generation Fighter (NGF) project will transform its air force into one of the most potent in the region.
Military observers said that unless Malaysia matches the number of planes Singapore is expected to buy, the republic’s air force will maintain its current qualitative and quantitative edge.
Singapore has 165 combats jets compared to Malaysia’s fleet of 65 aircraft ranging from the MiG-29N Fulcrums, F/A-18D Hornets and Hawks.
Five manufacturers from the United States, France, Russia and Europe have submitted their aircraft for the NGF project which will replace the A-4SU Skyhawks and eventually the F-5S Tigers currently in service with the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF). There are about 100 Skyhawks and F-5S in service with RSAF.
The SAF main combat aircraft is the F-16C/D Fighting Falcon fighter bomber, which numbers around 60. Most of them are based in the United States at various locations for training purposes. Singapore is also expected to replace its earlier version of the F-16s with the latest aircraft being developed by the US, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. It is the only country in Asia that had paid to join the F-35 programme as an interested purchaser.
All three aircraft in RSAF inventory are cleared to carry laser and GPS-guided munitions and modern air-to-air missiles.
Although it was previously reported that only a dozen of the NGF aircraft will be purchased initially, Singapore is expected to purchase at least three-dozen more to ensure its air force remained the most potent in the region.
Defence industry sources told The Malay Mail that the three aircraft – Boeing’s F-15E Strike Eagle, the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and the Eurofighter Typhoon – are the leading contenders for the NGF project. The contract is expected to be signed by the end of the year.
Since the Super Hornet is on the Malaysian shopping list, the Strike Eagle (to be known as F-15S in Singapore service) and Typhoon are said to be most probable choice for Singapore.
Traditionally, Singapore favours American weapons but in the past, it did operate British-made Hawker Hunter fighters manufactured by the same company which was the forerunner of the Typhoon manufacturer, Bae Systems.
The Typhoon and Strike Eagle are both capable of being armed with long range air-to-surface missiles. The Typhoon can be armed, apart from the usual plethora of modern air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, with the Storm Shadow cruise missile, an all-weather, air-launched conventional precision weapon.
The Malay Mail learnt that if Singapore chooses the Typhoon, the Storm Shadow will be included in the package as part of a government-to-government deal.
It is also believed that Singapore’s Typhoons will be armed with the Meteor beyond-visual-range (BVR) air-to-air missile, which is being developed for the Royal Air Force (RAF).
Meteor is Europe’s answer to the US BVR missle, the AIM-120C Amraam. Singapore has purchased Amraams for its air force but the missiles are stored in the US and will only be released to Singapore with the approval of the US government.
If Singapore chooses the Strike Eagles – which most pundits believe they will – it is expected that it will be cleared to purchase long range air-to-surface missiles, the AGM-84E SLAM and AGM-142 Raptor.
Both missiles have shorter range than the Storm Shadow, between 50km and 70km, but are optimised for long range attacks against high-value targets.
Since South Korea had signed a deal to purchase the Strike Eagles with both weapons, it is inconceivable that Singapore will agree to purchase the aircraft without the same capabilities. And as the Koreans purchased 40 Strike Eagles for about RM15 billion (US$4 billion), Singapore will also probably get the same deal for same number of jets.
The Strike Eagle has a much better chance being selected for the NGF due to the “special” relationship between Singapore and the US. If it does proceed to select the Boeing aircraft, it could strike a deal with the US to lease Strike Eagles in service with the US Air Force for training until its own aircraft are delivered.
Another plus point for the Strike Eagles is its long range. This means that the aircraft will be able to get to any point in the region without relying on air-to-air refueling.
The Strike Eagles have been described many observers as the best strike aircraft operating today. It has been proven while in action in Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan. It is not just another bomber. It also has the ability to engage air-to-air threats just like the C version.
The Singapore NGF is expected to be in service by 2007, almost at the same time when Malaysia’s Super Hornets and Sukhoi Su-30MKMs are expected to be delivered.
Source: Malay Mail (24th January, 2003)
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Steve ~ Touchdown-News
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January 29, 2003 at 12:21 pm