Premier U.S. Submarine hunter-tracker to be deployed in FPDA military drills in SCS and Indian Ocean
The Hindu
The FPDA strengthens defence relationships among Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the U.K. through joint military drills.
New Zealand Defence Minister Judith Collins on May 31 said a P-8 Poseidon would be deployed to Singapore for the first time as part of the military drills undertaken by the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA), which the city-state is part of.
The FPDA is a series of bilateral defence relationships established by several multi-lateral agreements between Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the U.K.
Singapore is close to important submarine channels in Indonesia linking the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean. The P-8 aircraft is the premier U.S. submarine hunter-tracker that is increasingly deployed in the region against China’s submarine patrols.
FPDA first took form in 1971 to safeguard the external defence of Singapore and Malaysia, amid the withdrawal of British forces from Singapore.
F-35 fighter jets from Australia and elements of the U.K.’s Carrier Strike Group are some of the next-generation capabilities that will be incorporated in future joint military drills under FPDA.
These ideas were discussed as defence representatives of the FPDA countries met for the 12th FPDA Defence Ministers’ Meeting (FDMM) in Singapore, where they agreed to include more high-end warfighting capabilities in exercises under the grouping.
The FDMM, which is the highest decision-making platform of the FPDA, is held every three years, with Singapore and Malaysia taking turns to host. This time round, the meeting is held on the sidelines of the annual Shangri-La Dialogue, which kicked off on May 31 as well.
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