Commentary – The Singapore Ministry of Defence announced that Singapore will be conducting joint military exercises with China armed forces in Singapore in the coming week, amid increasing China’s aggression toward Asian nations in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait.
The joint exercises in Singapore will be the seventh edition of the bilateral Exercise Cooperation between The Singapore Army and The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China to be conducted from Dec. 10 to 17.
The Singapore’s Defence Ministry said on Facebook the exercise will focus on urban Counter-Terrorism (CT) operation involving 90 personnel from the SAF’s 3rd Singapore Division and 1st Commando Battalion, as well as 90 personnel from the PLA Southern Theatre Command Army’s 74th Army Group.
“The exercise will feature a battalion-level Field Training Exercise, conducted at SAFTI City for the first time. SAFTI City is Singapore’s first high-rise urban training facility, and is equipped with smart instrumentation to provide real-time feedback to support training for a wider range of operations, including CT.”
SAFTI City, officially opened on March 19, is a state-of-the-art urban training facility to hone the Singapore’s soldiers’ skills and tactics for a range of missions, including homeland security, counter-terrorism and disaster relief operations.
“Participants from both armies will also engage in tactical drills, small arms live firing, use of drones for basic reconnaissance and patrol, and cohesion activities. These interactions aim to strengthen professional exchanges and enhance people-to-people ties,” the Facebook post added.
The post also quoted Chief-of-Staff 3rd Singapore Division, Colonel Yow Thiam Poh’s comments, “Exercise Cooperation demonstrates the warm and friendly defence ties between Singapore and China. It builds mutual trust between the People’s Liberation Army and the Singapore Army and allows our people from both sides to strengthen relationships and build bonds.”
Observers noted that while Singapore wishes to build mutual trust, China’s history of aggression towards Asian countries in the South China Sea and Taiwan Straits suggests Singapore’s joint military exercises could leave it vulnerable by letting on its military skills and tactics, should China turn its aggression towards the country.
China’s Claims Over South China Sea
The Philippines has borne the brunt of China’s maritime aggression over the dispute in the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea in recent years.
China has laid claims on the disputed islands in the nine-desh line in the South China Sea.
One of the islands in the nine-desh line is Scarborough Shoal, located within 200 miles of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
The arbitration Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands, rejected China’s claims of Scarborough Shoal in favour of the Philippines in 2016 but China has rejected the ruling.
The media has reported Chinese coast guard vessels spraying water-cannon and ramming Philippine’ vessels since 2021.
In September, China announced the construction of the Huangyan Island National Nature Reserve in Scarborough Shoal which was met with strong protest from the Philippines and the US.
Scarborough Shoal is rich in natural resources and a vital fishing ground for local Filipino villages and China’s aggression threatens the livelihood of the fishermen.
A Chinese Coast Guard vessel (R) fires its water cannon at the Philippine’s BRP Datu Pagbuaya near Philippine occupied Thitu island, locally called Pag-asa island, at the South China Sea on Oct. 12, 2025. (Source: Philippine Coast Guard via AP)
Threat of Taiwan’s Invasion
The PLA has been staging regular exercises in the waters and airspace around Taiwan, which the government in Taipei regards as a way of putting pressure on the island.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) claims Taiwan as its own territory, although the Taiwanese people had elected its government since the country first held elections in 1996.
The CCP has not ruled out the use of force to take control of the island.
According to US intelligence, Chinese leader Xi Jinping has told the PLA to be ready for Taiwan’s invasion by 2027.
The Guardian reported that Chinese military incursion into Taiwan’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ) had steadily increased in recent years to more than 3,000 in 2024, from more than 1,700 in 2022.
Coercive Actions Against Japan
China has been levying punitive measures against Japan following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks in parliament last month that Japan could take military action to protect its interest in the Taiwan Strait if China were to attack Taiwan.
Itsunori Onodera, Japan’s Security Research Commission Chairman said that Chinese military have “raised the alert level to a far more dangerous stage,” a development that could be taken as a “provocation,” after Chinese military J-15 jets locked radar twice on Japanese aircraft ASDF F-15, on Saturday, according to new outlet The Japan wire.
Music events by Japanese pop stars Ayumi Hamasaki and Maki Tosuki held in China have been canceled.
The CCP has also banned the imports of Japanese seafood, after lifting restrictions earlier in November.
It has also warned Chinese citizens against traveling to Japan and the announcement had sent stocks of Japanese departmental stores and tourism-related companies tumbling.
Beijing had also dispatched coast guard ships near Japan-administered Islands on November 15.
The CCP is known for using coercive actions to force countries to submit to its demand.
In 2023, Beijing imposed a blanket ban on imports of all Japanese seafood after Japan released radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific, despite the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) concluding it was safe.
In 2010, China halted rare earth exports to Japan for about seven weeks after Japanese authorities detained a Chinese fishing captain whose vessel had collided with the coast guard ships near the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands.
On Oct, 9, Beijing had imposed export controls on 5 rare-earths, bringing the total rare-earth export control to 12, seen as leverage in its trade negotiations with the US.
Naoki Hyakuta, who heads the minor opposition Conservative Party in Japan, denounced Beijing’s actions as “bullying” and “harassment.”
Hei Seki, a Chinese-born legislator with the ruling Japan Innovation Party, said, “Having studied the CCP regimes for many years, I understand their habits well. They always become arrogant and adopt an intimidating attitude toward those who yield or appear weak.”
