Why Do Singapore and China Cooperate on Joint Maritime Exercises?

The famend Singaporean historian Wang Gungwu noticed that China has historically been a continental energy, with Zheng He’s Fifteenth-century maritime voyages as a notable exception. Following the Opium Battle in 1839, which highlighted China’s vulnerabilities to naval invasions, China centered on constructing a formidable navy and now boasts the world’s largest floor combatant fleet. 

In distinction, Singapore has lengthy recognized as a maritime nation, evolving from a regional buying and selling port within the 1400s to a key British naval base. Given its restricted sources and small inhabitants, Singapore’s survival will depend on its naval energy, and it now operates considered one of Southeast Asia’s most superior navies.

Each nations acknowledge the significance of naval energy for regional safety. In September 2024, the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and the Individuals’s Liberation Military Navy (PLAN) held their third and largest version of Train Maritime Cooperation, a joint train initiated in 2015. In accordance with Singapore’s Ministry of Protection and China’s Ministry of Nationwide Protection, the train goals to bolster bilateral protection relations and share greatest practices.

The train came about amid heightened territorial disputes within the South China Sea and Singapore’s considerations about freedom of navigation. The 2024 State of Southeast Asia survey revealed that almost 73 % of Singaporeans are apprehensive about China’s rising affect and army assertiveness. This raises a key query: Why does Singapore proceed to interact in naval workouts with China regardless of these considerations? What motivates China to take part in these workouts?

For Singapore, its participation alerts a want to stay impartial amidst the Sino-U.S. rivalry. For China, these workouts assist construct belief with Singapore and make sure the safety of its sea lanes by way of the Straits of Malacca. On the identical time, these maritime workouts are essential in demonstrating China’s dedication to being a accountable energy by addressing nontraditional safety threats equivalent to piracy and pure disasters.

Singapore: Signaling Neutrality and Relevance 

Singapore conducts joint army workouts with China to take care of its neutrality amid the rising Sino-U.S. competitors, a apply that has been in place because the normalization of diplomatic relations in 1990. In the course of the Nineteen Nineties, Singapore supported the U.S. army presence in Southeast Asia to steadiness towards exterior threats by signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) permitting the USA to make use of its naval and air bases for logistics and resupply, particularly after the U.S. closed its naval base within the Philippines’ Subic Bay. These services later performed a task in supporting the U.S. World Battle on Terrorism following the 9/11 assaults.

Nevertheless, by the mid-Nineteen Nineties to early 2000s, Singapore acknowledged China’s rising financial and army affect, exemplified by the 1995 Mischief Reef incident, and have become involved about China’s assertiveness within the South China Sea affecting sea lanes essential for its commerce. As a substitute of counterbalancing China, Singapore opted to take care of optimistic bilateral relations to make sure a steady regional safety atmosphere conducive to its growth.

Singapore signed the Settlement on Protection Exchanges and Safety Cooperation (ADSEC) with China in 2008 to reinforce bilateral protection ties. The settlement, which formalized actions like reciprocal port calls and launched new cooperation areas equivalent to humanitarian help, led to the inaugural Train Cooperation in Guilin, Guangxi. Initially involving 60 troopers from each international locations, this train centered on counterterrorism and occasion safety. Over time, the dimensions of the train expanded to incorporate 240 troopers.

Nevertheless, the intensification of the Sino-U.S. rivalry, starting with then-U.S. President Barack Obama’s “pivot to Asia” in 2009 and China’s rising assertiveness within the South China Sea, raised considerations inside Singapore about being pressured to decide on between Beijing and Washington, notably within the maritime area. Whereas the USA stays Singapore’s major arms provider and coaching associate, Singapore has made efforts to reassure China that it’ll not take sides within the rising tensions between these nice powers.

It was on this context that Singapore and China initiated Train Maritime Cooperation in 2015 to deepen their bilateral protection relationship and foster belief and understanding. The naval workouts additionally present Singapore with a platform to emphasise the significance of freedom of navigation for its safety and commerce, whereas addressing widespread nontraditional safety threats equivalent to piracy. 

The naval workouts have turn into more and more important for Singapore, given China’s ongoing considerations about Singapore’s neutrality. China has lengthy perceived Singapore as too carefully aligned with the USA, as evidenced by Singapore’s participation in high-profile U.S.-led multilateral workouts equivalent to Cobra Gold in Thailand and Tremendous Garuda Protect in Indonesia. 

This concern was heightened after then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s 2016 speech criticizing China’s refusal to stick to the Worldwide Tribunal on the Legislation of the Sea (ITLOS) ruling on the South China Sea dispute. That very same 12 months, China-Singapore relations had been additional strained by the seizure of Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Terrex armored automobiles in Hong Kong because of China’s displeasure over Singapore’s continued army workouts in Taiwan, which China considers its territory. 

In 2019, Singapore and China signed the Enhanced ADSEC, following the extension of the 2019 Singapore-U.S. MOU, which aimed to broaden the dimensions of China-Singapore bilateral army workouts and deepen protection cooperation. 

The 2024 iteration of Train Maritime Cooperation was the most important of the three performed to this point and it came about instantly after Singapore’s participation within the U.S.-led Tremendous Garuda Protect workouts, reflecting Singapore’s efforts to take care of a steadiness between China and the USA.

The train concerned the PLAN’s newest Sort 054A frigate Sanya, and the Sort 082-II minesweeper Hejian, in addition to the RSN’s Formidable-class frigate RSS Stalwart. The joint army train concerned two phases, an offshore table-top planning train, and a shore train involving search and rescue (SAR), humanitarian help and catastrophe reduction (HADR), cross-deck helicopter landings, and go to, board, search, and seizure (VBSS) workouts.

China: Safety Via Cooperation 

For China, the Strait of Malacca, with Singapore strategically positioned at its heart, has lengthy been recognized as a susceptible chokepoint for its safety and commerce. In 2003, China’s then-President Hu Jintao highlighted the “Malacca Dilemma,” a situation wherein the strait might be blockaded throughout a army contingency. Regardless of China’s efforts to mitigate this threat by way of overland routes in Central and South Asia, 90 % of China’s commerce and 80 % of its oil imports nonetheless journey by sea, creating important vulnerabilities.

Given Singapore’s central location within the Malacca Strait, China views Train Maritime Cooperation as a key part of its technique to take care of pleasant relations with Singapore, making certain its neutrality amid Sino-U.S. competitors and securing the strait throughout emergencies. Via these naval workouts, China goals to speak its vulnerabilities to Singapore and alleviate considerations about its naval buildup and increasing energy projection capabilities.

Regionally, the 2024 Train Maritime Cooperation came about towards the backdrop of China’s territorial disputes with its neighbors. By partaking in joint naval workouts with Singapore, China seeks to deflect criticism of its assertiveness within the South China Sea and underscore its dedication to a cooperative regional order by addressing widespread nontraditional safety threats equivalent to piracy, smuggling, and pure disasters.

Limitations and Broader Implications 

The size of the joint army workouts between Singapore and China is prone to stay restricted, focusing totally on nontraditional safety threats. Presently, Singapore’s naval workouts with China are comparatively modest in comparison with its participation in U.S.-led multilateral naval workouts equivalent to RIMPAC, which embody a broad vary of fight and non-combat actions. This restricted scope is partly because of Singapore’s delicate balancing act between China and the USA and the shortage of interoperability between the 2 navies. Singapore is conscious that conducting fight workouts with China might increase considerations inside the USA, its most popular protection associate, whereas extreme alignment with Washington may exacerbate China’s doubts about Singapore’s neutrality amid the Sino-U.S. rivalry.

For China, the Maritime Cooperation workouts serve not solely to construct pleasant relations with Singapore but in addition to make sure the safety of the Malacca Strait. Regionally, China goals to showcase its dedication to regional peace and stability by addressing nontraditional safety points. Nevertheless, for these efforts to be efficient, China should additionally tackle its territorial disputes with its neighbors by way of diplomatic means.