On August 22, 2021 local time in Singapore, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Singapore for a visit, followed by a visit to Vietnam, with the intention of wooing Southeast Asian countries against China.
In this regard, Ma Dingsheng, a famous military commentator based in Hong Kong, said today that although the combat effectiveness of the US base in Singapore is only a squadron, its strategic position is irreplaceable.
Ma Dingsheng pointed out that Singapore is located in the center of the Okinawa base in Japan, Darwin Port in Australia and Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean, each more than 2,000 kilometers apart, making it the hub of the U.S. Indo-Pacific bases. Once China and the United States go to war, the role of the Singapore military base will be very important. From a purely military point of view, China is bound to target this point.
Ma Dingsheng believes that Lee Hsien Loong and his father have disregarded Beijing’s taboos and continued their military alliance with the United States. Among the more than three million citizens of Singapore, 70% of them are Chinese. Lee Hsien Loong’s policy of hostility to China is intriguing.
According to previous reports, the 36th Wing of the US Air Force announced on May 27 that the Singapore Air Force deployed a number of F-16 and F-15SG fighter jets and a G-550 early warning aircraft to Anderson Air Force Base in Guam on May 24. The US Air Force stated that this deployment is to provide bilateral training for Singapore’s aircrew and ground crew to enhance interoperability and enhance regional partnerships.