Singapore and China to conduct two-week bilateral army exercise

SINGAPORE – The Singapore Armed Forces and China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) are conducting a two-week bilateral army exercise from Friday, the first such exercise since 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Exercise Cooperation, which is on from Friday to Sept 14, is running for the fifth time since the first edition in 2009, and involves soldiers from the Singapore Army’s 3rd Singapore Division and 1st Commando Battalion, as well as the PLA Southern Theatre Command Army’s 74th Army Group.

In a statement on Monday, the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) said the theme of the exercise is urban counter-terrorism operations. Soldiers will engage in professional exchanges in support of a rescue scenario and take part in tactical training, such as rappelling, hand-to-hand combat and small-arms live firing.

“These interactions allow both sides to strengthen professional ties and foster people-to-people bonds, as well as enhance mutual trust and understanding between both militaries,” said Mindef.

The ministry added that the exercise, which is part of the Singapore Army’s efforts to enhance mutual cooperation with other countries, underscores the warm and friendly bilateral defence relations between Singapore and China.

“Besides bilateral and multilateral exercises, the two defence establishments also interact regularly through high-level exchanges, mutual visits, cross-attendance of courses, academic exchanges and port calls,” said Mindef.