Singapore's top military leaders will accompany the country's former leader Lee Kuan Yew (李光耀) on a visit to Taiwan this week, defense sources said yesterday.
The delegation of leaders of Singapore's three services, including Chief of the Singapore Navy Rear Admiral Lui Tuck Yew, is expected to discuss the decades-old military ties between the two countries, the sources said.
During the visit, the delegation will have private meetings or social gatherings with their Taiwanese counterparts, according to the sources, and some will receive medals from Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND).
Singapore has had military ties with Taiwan for several decades. But Beijing has been putting pressure on Singapore to terminate the cooperation.
The ties center on the "Star Light Project," under which Taiwan provides training facilities for Singaporean troops.
Personnel from all three of Singapore's armed services used to come to Taiwan for training under the project. But now it is only the army that sends sizable numbers of troops for regular training at Taiwan's bases.
Despite the apparent downgrading of the project in recent years, the Singaporean army is still allowed to test-fire air defense missiles at Taiwan's top-security missile test site in Chiupeng, Pingtung County.
The Singaporean navy now sends only a small number of personnel each year to learn specialized combat skills from the Taiwan navy.
The Taiwan navy's Underwater Demolition Unit, for instance, is training a Singaporean non-commissioned officer to become a qualified special operations soldier, similar to a member of the US navy Seals.
What the Singaporean military wants from Taiwan is sufficient training space, which is not something Taiwan can easily provide, sources said.
China has offered the Singaporean military access to large training facilities on Hainan Island and in other parts of China.
The offers are attractive since Hainan is not only close to Singapore but is also cheaper than facilities in Taiwan.
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