Training area upgrades bolster Australia-Singapore defense ties
FORUM Staff
Enhancements at an expansive military training area in northeast Australia will accommodate thousands of visiting Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) personnel each year and represent a milestone in the nations’ decades-long defense ties, officials say.
The upgrades at Shoalwater Bay Training Area include combined air-land ranges; two urban operations live-fire facilities, the first of their kind in Australia; administration and medical facilities; and camp accommodation for up to 2,000 personnel, according to the Australian Defence Force (ADF).
The expanded training area in Queensland is five times larger than 720-square-kilometer Singapore, the nation’s Senior Minister of State for Defence Heng Chee How said at a November 2024 ceremony marking the project’s completion. “It is a high-quality training area that uniquely enables both the Singapore Armed Forces and Australian Defence Force to hone our respective operational capabilities and readiness,” he said, according to a news release.
The joint development project is “yet another historic milestone” for the ADF and the SAF, Heng said. “It is a tangible symbol of the abiding trust between us and elevates the bilateral defence relationship as we look forward to commemorating the 60th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations” in 2025.
With limited land and airspace on the island, Singapore partners with host nations such as Australia and the United States for military exercises and training. For example, the Republic of Singapore Air Force has three training detachments stationed in the U.S., including F-15 and F-16 fighter jets, and Apache helicopters, according to the Singapore Defence Ministry.
The SAF has trained at Shoalwater Bay for 34 years, and the new infrastructure enables as many as 6,600 Singaporean personnel to conduct a nine-week training deployment each year, up from the previous 45-day deployment, officials said.
The opening ceremony was held as the training area hosted about 2,000 Australian and Singaporean Airmen, Sailors and Soldiers for the biennial Exercise Trident. Drills included air, littoral and urban combat operations, as well as a science and technology component on uncrewed aerial vehicle interoperability and joint experimentation.
The two forces continue “to build the complexity and the sophistication of the exercises and the activities that we do together,” Australian Defence Secretary Greg Moriarty said in a news release. “We acknowledge and appreciate the support for each other’s training, and the access enhances our ability to strengthen our security and advances our shared interests in maintaining regional stability.”
The nations announced in early December 2024 that they plan to expand access to their respective defense facilities, including visits by Australian personnel to Singapore’s Air Force and Navy bases, Reuters news agency reported.
“This is a very significant step forward in what is already a broad and unique relationship,” Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said.
