Hong Kong-born teen trying to give up Singapore citizenship

[PainRack]

Oh? I know China has territorial disputes with some ASEAN countries, but I didn't realise Singapore was one of them. Do you have some sort of mutual defense treaty or something with the other ASEAN nations?

Fingolfin is talking out of his ass again. Singapore has no territorial disputes with China, unlike Vietnam, Phillipines and etc.

The SAF is now currently being redesigned out of its conventional detterent force role to take on a more well-rounded capability. Some of the "threats" we're geared up to orient ourselves around are counter-terrorism, protection of installations, peacekeeping operations and maritime security. Along those lines, Singapore is taking on more capability for its navy than it used to under FPDA, with the acquisition of frigates to secure the maritime lanes. The most dramatic example of this was when we deployed ships and helicopters to Somalia to support anti-piracy operations.


And the thing is, neither Singapore nor ASEAN is willing to enter into a semi-hostile state with China. They do wish for future American engagement in the area to balance a potential threat, but China has been doing very well in its diplomacy of wooing over countries in the region. When Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia all wish to keep China in their good books...... yeah. None of the affronted states have put up any real military opposition to China expansion in the Spratlys, save for increasing naval patrols. This as opposed to Thailand vs Cambodia, where actual military incursion and battles have occurred.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Oh? I know China has territorial disputes with some ASEAN countries, but I didn't realise Singapore was one of them. Do you have some sort of mutual defense treaty or something with the other ASEAN nations?

Fingolfin is talking out of his ass again. Singapore has no territorial disputes with China, unlike Vietnam, Phillipines and etc.

The SAF is now currently being redesigned out of its conventional detterent force role to take on a more well-rounded capability. Some of the "threats" we're geared up to orient ourselves around are counter-terrorism, protection of installations, peacekeeping operations and maritime security. Along those lines, Singapore is taking on more capability for its navy than it used to under FPDA, with the acquisition of frigates to secure the maritime lanes. The most dramatic example of this was when we deployed ships and helicopters to Somalia to support anti-piracy operations.


And the thing is, neither Singapore nor ASEAN is willing to enter into a semi-hostile state with China. They do wish for future American engagement in the area to balance a potential threat, but China has been doing very well in its diplomacy of wooing over countries in the region. When Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia all wish to keep China in their good books...... yeah. None of the affronted states have put up any real military opposition to China expansion in the Spratlys, save for increasing naval patrols. This as opposed to Thailand vs Cambodia, where actual military incursion and battles have occurred.

Nah, you are just being naive.

Tell you what, when the neighbourhood is on fire, can you expect us to stay neutral? What with us being so cozy with the US? And China doing well on the foreign policy front? Their damn ministers were blustering in front of everyone at two or more defence meets, to the chagrin of everyone. And honestly and clearly, you have no idea about how aggressive the Chinese have been in the Spratlys, what with Vietnam and Phillipines complaining every now and then about Chinese installations etc.

Think carefully, because geopolitics is definitely not your strongest suit. We do have a mutual defence treaty with Brunei, in case you have forgotten, and Brunei does have some claim on the Spratlys.

[PainRack]

Nah, you are just being naive.

Tell you what, when the neighbourhood is on fire, can you expect us to stay neutral? What with us being so cozy with the US? And China doing well on the foreign policy front? Their damn ministers were blustering in front of everyone at two or more defence meets, to the chagrin of everyone. And honestly and clearly, you have no idea about how aggressive the Chinese have been in the Spratlys, what with Vietnam and Phillipines complaining every now and then about Chinese installations etc.

Think carefully, because geopolitics is definitely not your strongest suit. We do have a mutual defence treaty with Brunei, in case you have forgotten, and Brunei does have some claim on the Spratlys.

lol,pot, kettle, black.

Let's try this, did we stay neutral during the Thai/Cambodia border incursion? Yes we did. We even managed to sidestep out of the whole Mynamar/Thailand/Vietnam diplomatic spats that been recurring on and off, and we're their closest allies.

Furthermore, that's just about it. With Clinton help, ASEAN managed to demand that any talks be resolved on a multilateral level. Every party is comitted to avoiding the use of force to assert their claims in the region.

As for Brunei, consider that Brunei has never had any armed conflict with China over the Spratlys. Consider that there has been no armed confrontation with China for the last 6 years, the CLOSEST that happened was Phillipines warning China that a new arms race might happen in the region over the Spratlys last year.

And any realistic observer will note that this is the most that will happen. China own diplomatic strategy is to simply increase its presence in the region and then assert its claim by default.
None of the other powers are willing to engage in a military confrontation with China over the Spratlys, neither are they strong enough. If you're naive enough to believe that ASEAN will collaborate military to confront china, you're insane.

So, what's left? All the major powers of ASEAN, all the major claimants are indebted to China. Malaysia current economic growth is tied to China. Thailand isn't going to rock the boat with China due to a variety of reasons. Indonesia might want to, but it can't do shit. Vietnam and Phillipines economies are literally owned by China right now. That means the countries involved has precious little leverage to apply against China, especially since China has steadily expanded her operations there. The only power they have is through the court of law. And lo and behold, that's what they're doing.

The only way war might erupt in the Spratly will be if the US and China clash over the respective disputes. What we will see at best is an "arms race", or just each party racing to build more installations and exploit/fish the region. When China pushes, the relative weakness of SEA countries means that they will fold.