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Singapore’s forces go high-tech as recruiting levels slide

Reuters

A growing threat of terrorism is putting a strain on Singapore’s small and shrinking Army, pushing it toward greater reliance on automation and technology such as unmanned patrol systems to protect the island state, Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said.

The Singapore government in June 2017 described the terror threat as the highest in recent years.  The emergence of militants loyal to the Islamic State in the Philippines, where security forces have been battling since late May 2017 to recapture Marawi City, showed the extent of the danger to Southeast Asia, Ng said.

“It’s endemic in our backyard, and the incident in Marawi is but another symptom to tell us that,” Ng told reporters, adding that Singapore was prepared to deploy ships if asked to help patrol near the area.

Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines have stepped up coordinated patrols in the Sulu Sea, separating the southern Philippines island of Mindanao, where Marawi is located, from Malaysian and Indonesian territory on Borneo island.

Ng said it is premature to decide what kind of assistance – aircraft, ships, refueling facilities or medical staff – could be provided, but said it was in Singapore’s interests to be involved.

Ng’s remarks came as Singapore marked its 50th anniversary of National Service. In Singapore, all males over the age of 18 are required to contribute two years of national service, which involves basic military training for several months before being assigned to either the armed forces, civil defense force or the police force.

With a population of just 5.5 million, Singapore is dwarfed by its mostly Muslim neighbors, and all the countries of the region, including Singapore — which has a sizable Muslim minority of its own – are on guard against radicalization that could draw people toward militant groups, such as the Islamic State.

Starting in July 2017, Singapore plans to train 18,000 servicemen annually for homeland security operations. Its military forces, however, are expected to diminish by one-third by 2030, due to the country’s low birth rate.

Ng said that the armed forces plan to increase the use of automation and technology to make up for the reduced manpower. (Pictured: This unmanned surface vessel is one way the Singapore Ministry of Defence is using technology to bridge the gap created by a manpower reduction.)

Singapore’s Navy, for example, will have two fully autonomous unmanned surface vehicles in operation by 2020. It is already using artificial intelligence to monitor nearly a thousand vessels passing through Singapore waters daily to detect possible threats.

Singapore has a defense partnership with the United States, which allows wider use of the city state’s facilities by the U.S. military. It also has defense ties with Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

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