Singapore-Taiwan military agreement to stay in place despite pressure from Beijing
It’s not in city state’s interest to cave in to pressure from Beijing and suspend training programme, according to observers
Singapore has no reason to end its military training programme with Taiwan even though the city state has strengthened military ties with Beijing, sources and observers say.
The city state will step up defence cooperation with China, but it is not in Singapore’s interest to give up its military ties with Taiwan because of pressure from Beijing, they said.
Project Starlight was set up in 1975 in a deal between Singapore’s late prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and Taiwan’s then premier Chiang Ching-kuo. Given the city state’s limited land and airspace, the two sides agreed to allow its armed forces to train in Taiwan.
The project has been under close scrutiny from Beijing, especially after Taiwan’s pro-independence President Tsai Ing-wen took office.
In November, Beijing demanded Singapore respect its one-China policy and end military ties with Taiwan after nine armoured troop carriers were intercepted in Hong Kong for not having an import licence. The vehicles were en route to Singapore from the Taiwanese port of Kaohsiung after being used in a military exercise under Project Starlight.