My response to Benjamin's interesting comment of September 14, 2020
I think the price of Singapore's new Type 218SG submarines are average-low indicating the 218 is not a radical departure from the Type 214. Number "4" was not used as it is an "unlucky number" in Cantonese Chinese (ethnicity covering most Singaporeans) culture. More specifically US$900 million per 218 is reasonable given it is a larger-than-usual AIP submarine from a new supplier (TKMS) - with the price also covering spares, training, maintenance facilities, etc.
I think Singapore has to hedge a bit and does not form alliances because:
- Singapore's relatively small military would only be a small addition to the forces swallowed up by a
much larger ally (especially the US). Even Australia under ANZUS is a small addition to US forces.
- a formal alliance would normally mean Singapore would politically-legally be required to come to the
aid of an ally (say the US) if the US were "attacked".
In December 2001, following Afghanistan-based-al Qaeda's 9/11 terrorist attack on the US,
Australian SAS came to the aid of US forces fighting in Afghanistan. This was legally-politically
invoked under the ANZUS Treaty.
While Singapore is not an ally of the US Singapore is/was still contributing, with the US and Australia, to the "War On Terror" in the Middle East. Note this Straits Timesarticle "Parliament: More SAF troops to be sent to Iraq later this year to train their security forces" of March 2, 2018
and
"including the Singapore Armed Forces and the Australian Defence Force's joint deployments in the Middle East as part of the Defeat-ISIS coalition"
Singapore may have intel (eg. sigint) relationships...made public in 2013 Singapore closely related to"Five Eyes".
"FPDA" features so little in an average Aussie's knowledge of regional arrangements that I had to look it up - yielding https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Power_Defence_Arrangements . Odd that any concept of UK forces reentering the East of Suez region is still entertained
and odd that the US is NOT in the FPDA arrangement. Maybe a Queen Elizabeth class carrier will visit our region in 2021?
Does Singapore buy weapons platforms of any significance from the UK? I note some very old Land Rovers and more recent snipers rifles.
Yes Australia has been building/launching/planning a grand fleet of new ships: LHDs, destroyers, offshore patrol vessels, smaller patrol boats, large frigates, supply ships, an icebreaker and last, but not least submarines. BUT Australia's ability to man and maintain all these old and new vessels is less certain.