Pulau Tekong to expand to meet Singapore army's training needs

SINGAPORE: Pulau Tekong, an island located off the northeastern coast of Singapore, will be expanded to serve the army's training needs, Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen announced in parliament on Monday (Mar 3).

Plans to build a bigger Pulau Tekong - home to the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Basic Military Training Centre - have been in the works through a land reclamation project.

The expansion "to stretch 10km in distance" will serve as a training area for soldiers and combat vehicles, as the army becomes increasingly platform-based, said Dr Ng as he laid out the Ministry of Defence's (MINDEF) spending plans.

Outside of Singapore, the Shoalwater Bay Training Area in Queensland, Australia - used by the SAF for military exercises - has also been expanded with new and better facilities. 

With the expansion, the SAF was able to conduct the biggest edition of Exercise Wallaby - the forces' largest overseas unilateral exercise - last year, with more than 6,200 personnel and approximately 490 platforms. 

After the development of an adjacent Greenvale Training Area, the SAF will have a combined training area 10 times the size of Singapore, said Dr Ng. 

"This combined training area will allow us to deploy up to 14,000 personnel and 2,400 vehicles and equipment annually, so that the SAF (can) exercise its full range of capabilities together with all elements from land, sea, air and digital," he added.  

During his speech on Monday, Dr Ng also highlighted the need to strengthen partnerships with other countries as a means to address common security challenges. 

Singapore's Defence Cooperation Agreement with Indonesia has been in force since March 2024, and provides a strong basis for the countries to promote closer interaction and cooperation between their defence establishments, he said. 

He pointed to a meeting between Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto in November last year.

Both leaders expressed support for more military engagement between the SAF and Indonesian National Armed Forces or TNI, including training together in Kalimantan.

Both countries' air forces will conduct an inaugural bilateral air patrol under the Singapore-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol or Patkor Indopura later this year.

Singapore also has good relations with Malaysia, the country's closest neighbour, said Dr Ng. 

"Malaysia is at the helm of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) this year, and we will support their chairmanship as they uphold ASEAN centrality and unity, "he added. 

Apart from immediate neighbours, Singapore's defence relationships with the United States and China continue to grow, with regular high-level exchanges, said Dr Ng.

In May 2024, he co-chaired the Singapore-China Defence Ministers' Dialogue with China Minister of National Defense Admiral Dong Jun, on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue - Asia's top defence summit.

In September last year, Dr Ng was invited to speak at the 11th Beijing Xiangshan Forum - styled as China's answer to the Shangri-La Dialogue. He also spoke at a dialogue session with senior People's Liberation Army commanders at Beijing's National Defence University (NDU).

There, he met Admiral Dong again, and had a bilateral call with a vice-chairman of China's Central Military Commission, General Zhang Youxia. 

Zhang is first-ranked vice-chair while He Weidong is second-ranked vice-chair. The two are deputies to the commission's chair, China President Xi Jinping.

"For those who know the PLA structure, it's a privilege. My delegation and I acknowledge and appreciate the privileged access to both vice-chairman Zhang and the pinnacle commander class at their NDU," said Dr Ng.

"During these meetings, we affirmed the good military-to-military interactions that we have through various exercises and these high-level meetings. We plan to step up further interactions."

With the US, who is a major security cooperation partner of Singapore, collaborations with their department of defence and military are extensive, he added. 

"We are not a treaty ally, but it's plain that our military engagements and mutual benefits have grown over the years."

He added that Singapore was also thankful that its pilots have been able to train in the US for many years.

"Singapore invests heavily into our own defence and the US appreciates this fact," he said. 

"I look forward to further strengthening our defence relations under the Trump administration."