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Celebrating 50 Years of the Navy

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Celebrating 50 Years of the Navy A MARITIME FORCE FOR A MARITIME NATION Celebrating 50 Years of the Navy REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE NAVY Published by Straits Times Press Pte Ltd Singapore Press Holdings A Mezzanine Floor, Information Resource Centre Level 3, Podium Block 1000 Toa Payoh North, News Centre Singapore 318994 Tel: (65) 6319 6319 Fax: (65) 6319 8258 MARITIME FORCE [email protected] www.stpressbooks.com.sg FOR A Straits Times Press General manager Susan Long Publishing manager Lee Hui Chieh Creative director Lock Hong Liang MARITIME NATION Marketing and operations manager Ilangoh Thanabalan Sales manager Nigel Tan Celebrating 50 Years of the Navy Consulting editor: David Boey Contributing photographer: Kevin Lim The views of the contributors do not represent those of the Republic of Singapore Navy. Pictures belong to the Ministry of Defence and the Republic of Singapore Navy unless otherwise indicated. © 2017 Republic of Singapore Navy All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Printed in Singapore National Library Board, Singapore Cataloguing in Publication Data Names: Singapore. Navy. Title: A maritime force for a maritime nation: celebrating 50 years of the Navy. Description: Singapore: Straits Times Pte Ltd, [2017] Identifi ers: OCN 975246826 | 978-981-11-3030-4 (hardcover) Subjects: LCSH: Singapore. Navy. | Singapore–Defenses. Classifi cation: DDC 359.0095957 –dc23 Formidable-class frigate RSS Tenacious berthed at VivoCity opposite Brani Terminal for Navy@Vivo in June 2016. CONTENTS MESSAGE 6 SAFEGUARDING THE MARITIME NATION 74 CONTRIBUTING TO THE REGION AND BEYOND 136 STRENGTH OF THE RSN 190 FOREWORD 10 At the Front Line 76 Building Relationships at Sea 138 Conversations with the Chiefs 192 12 PREFACE Bravely Standing Our Ground 82 Operations Far Away from Home 146 Against all Odds to Reach New Frontiers 202 Serving the Nation, Defending its Bases 84 Staying Sharp, Breaking Waves 148 You'll Never Walk Alone 204 SINGAPORE, A MARITIME NATION 16 Boarding Ships to Secure Singapore’s Seas 86 The RSN’s Deployments over 50 Years 150 The Navy Family Was There for Me 206 Singapore’s Maritime Heritage 18 The Sharp Edge 88 A Hand of Hope 152 Remembering Courageous 208 A Modern Day Global Hub Port and International Maritime Centre 22 The Formidable Class 94 Saviours of the Deep 154 Drawing Strength from One Another 210 A Special Breed of Men 98 Paving the Information Fusion Highway 156 Challenging your Fears 212 GROWING THE MARITIME FORCE 26 Warriors of the Deep 100 Peace at Sea 158 Answering the Call of Command 214 Singapore’s Naval Defence Before Nationhood 28 Comrades in Arms on Land and Sea 102 Riding the Waves, Rain or Shine 218 Action on the Front Line 34 Fighting at Sea with the Air Force 104 SECURING THE FUTURE 164 Finding a Home Away from Home 220 Being a Good Officer, Reserve or Regular 36 Operation Flying Eagle Takes Wing 106 The Evolving Environment and Implications for the RSN 166 Once Navy, Always Navy 222 The SWANS of Singapura 38 Powering the Navy 108 Shaping the Future Navy 170 The Navy Song: Onwards and Upwards 224 The Early Days – the Navy in the late 1960s and 1970s 40 The Importance of Being Prepared 118 A Smart Ship 176 Experience was the Master Teacher 44 Making Failure Work for Success 120 Singapore Navy Order of Battle 180 THE RSN AT FIFTY 226 The Paths of the Pioneers 46 Harnessing the Pioneering Spirit 121 Seeding Smart Ideas for the Future 182 Life in Brani 48 First Sailors, Then Medics 122 Daring to Change, Staying Exceptional 184 The RSN’s ‘Eureka’ Moment 50 Not in Uniform 124 Building a Balanced Navy – the RSN in the 1980s and 1990s 54 Soul Food, So Good 126 A New Era of Naval Warfare 60 Much More than a School 128 See Farther, Strike Faster 62 Significant Moments of the RSN 131 The Silent Service 64 Safe in my Wake 66 In Conversation with Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean 68 A Sikorsky S-70B Seahawk naval helicopter overflying the Singapore Strait and past the Marina Bay area en route to base after training in the South China Sea. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong inspecting the Midshipman contingent at the Commissioning Parade for Offi cer Cadets on 26 June 2016. MESSAGE ingapore is a maritime nation. From the 14th century, to its founding in 1819 and its independence in 1965, our island’s prosperity has been inextricably linked to the sea. The seas are our lifelines and will continue to be so. Without them, Singapore Swould not survive, let alone prosper. For 50 years, the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) has defended Singapore and kept her waters safe. In the early years, RSN pioneers saw action and bravely defended Singapore at sea during Konfrontasi. Since then, the RSN has remained resolute and reliable in its duty to guard our nation against threats from the seas. Today, the RSN is a modern and fl exible force that protects Singapore’s sea lines of communication and contributes to regional peace and security. The RSN is also an effective instrument of defence diplomacy. Through port calls and naval engagements, it makes friends and fosters interoperability with other navies. This builds mutual understanding and trust, the basis for the RSN to work with other navies on common security concerns. By collaborating with friends and partners, the RSN contributes to the maritime security of our region. Today’s security threats are increasingly transnational and no country can tackle them alone. Safe and secure seas are vital for Singapore to continue to fl ourish, and for our maritime region to grow. To the men and women of the RSN, thank you for fi ve decades of dedicated service to Singapore. May the RSN continue to perform outstandingly as the maritime force for our maritime nation. LEE HSIEN LOONG PRIME MINISTER 6 7 Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean arriving at the launching ceremony of the second littoral mission vessel, Sovereignty, on 16 April 2016. MESSAGE t its birth on 5 May 1967, the RSN had just two wooden ships, RSS Panglima and RSS Bedok. The task ahead – to build a Navy from scratch and to protect the independence that was thrust upon Singapore – was a tall order. With stout Ahearts and single-minded determination, our pioneers went about their work and laid fi rm foundations for the RSN of today. The journey to build a capable Navy was not easy. The Navy had to weather great storms, especially in its early years. Never fl agging in adversity, we pressed on, as did the successive generations of Navy men and women. In 50 years, the RSN has been transformed into a modern and balanced maritime force that operates effectively on the surface, in the air and beneath the seas. This is well recognised internationally by military experts and established navies. At 50, the RSN can be justifi ably proud of its achievements. However, the RSN’s accomplishments were far from preordained. They were forged out of the sacrifi ce and hard work of the men and women of the RSN who served with dedication. It will require successive generations to do the same for the RSN to continue to succeed. The future of the RSN lies in the hands of today’s and tomorrow’s generations. Stay the course and continue fl ying the Navy Ensign high. I congratulate the RSN on its Golden Jubilee. I am proud to be part of the Navy Family. May the RSN continue to move “Onwards and Upwards” in the service of our maritime nation. TEO CHEE HEAN DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER 8 9 Minister for Defence, Dr Ng Eng Hen, and his wife, Professor Ivy Ng, disembarking from the newly commissioned submarine, RSS Archer, on 2 December 2011. FOREWORD eography is destiny” and since historical times, Singapore’s destiny and that of “ Southeast Asia have been shaped by infl uences that arose from its surrounding seas. There are records of sea trade from India and China as early as the 6th Gcentury that brought with it cultural and religious infl uences, including Hinduism and Buddhism. Islamic infl uence and European colonisation followed. Over centuries, land and air routes have been greatly developed but Singapore will always remain a maritime nation in a maritime region. Today, about a thousand ships ply the Singapore Strait each day, testament to our nation’s strategic siting at the crossroads of Asia and the rest of the world, between critical sea lines of communication in the South China Sea and the Malacca Strait. The RSN therefore has an onerous but critical responsibility to keep Singaporeans safe from maritime threats as well as vital waterways open. Over the 50 years since the inception of the RSN, successive leaders have understood this challenge and developed the necessary capabilities for the RSN to fulfi l its mission. This book, A Maritime Force for a Maritime Nation, commemorates the RSN’s Golden Jubilee through poignant stories of the men and women who built up the RSN with stout hearts and unfl agging spirits that overcame odds to transform a fl edgling constabulary force into the 3rd Generation RSN of today. This commemorative book should serve as an inspiration to present and future generations of RSN servicemen and women to be fully committed to their vital roles for the SAF and Singapore. I wish all men and women of the RSN a memeaningfulaningful and happy 50th anniversary! DR NG ENG HEN MINISTER FOR DEFENCE 10 11 The Chief of Defence Force, Lieutenant General Perry Lim, speaking to the crew of RSS Freedom before they sailed for patrol on 31 December 2016.
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