Singapore Air Force, Army Units To Train in India: Report
By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, SINGAPORE
Singapore will train its air force and army units on Indian territory under an expansion of a defense cooperation pact signed last year, Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean said in remarks published June 30.
Air force units will start training by the end of the year, while army personnel will follow next year, he was quoted as saying in the Straits Times.
The training will be carried out in camps run by the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) on long-term leases following talks to expand defense cooperation.
Training in foreign countries will boost the capability of the SAF as well as help the city-state overcome the space constraints at home, Teo said.
“We are always looking for opportunities to train with other armed forces because it provides the SAF with a new dimension in its training,” he said.
Singapore already trains its military personnel in about a dozen countries including France, the United States and Australia.
This will be the first time that India has allowed troops from a foreign country to train on its territory.
Singapore-India defense ties have grown steadily since the mid-1990s with regular exchanges of visits by ministers and high-level military officials and the signing of the Defence Cooperation Pact in October.
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