THE START AND EVOLUTION OF BILATERAL DEFENSE RELATIONS BETWEEN SINGAPORE AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Interviewee: Mr. Stephen J. Moree Interviewer: Jaime Wong Course: 20* Century World History Instructor: Mr. David Brandt Date: Febmary 12 2007 Table of Contents
Statement of purpose 3
Biography 4
Historical contextualization 6
Interview transcription 25
Interview analysis 56
Works consulted 62 statement of purpose
The purpose ofthis project is to provide a "behind the scenes" look at the evolution of bilateral defense relations between Singapore and the United States from 1965 to present day. Mr. Stephen J. Moree provides a significant amount of information regarding his personal experience working primarily in defense relations with Singapore and other Southeast Asian nations. It gives an intimate look at a topic which rarely sees much press coverage.
Table of contents Biography]
Mr. Stephen J. Moree was bom in 1 %2 in London Ontario, Canada. After
obtaining a Maters Degree in Criminal Justice and management from the University of
Tennessee, Mr. Moree eventually enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1984 at the
age of 22 and served in the Security Forces branch, working first as a Northeast Asia
Foreign area officer and later on in the Air Force International Affairs Office. He has been assigned to the Secretary of the Air Force, international affeirs since 15 June 2003.
After six years, he served in "Operation Desert Storm" from 1990 to 1991. While on
active duty Mr. Moree was awarded numerous decorations, to include the Meritorious
Service Medal with silver oak leaf cluster. He eventually retired from the Air Force in
2006, attaining the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Mr. Moree's extensive experience with
Asian countries, Korea and Japan in particiiar, led to him being appointed the position of
Southeast Asia Branch Chief of the Department of the Air Force which is tasked vAth
overseeing the United States Air Forces' activities throughout all of Southeast Asia. Notable events which he has been actively involved in include the recent sale of the
American Boeing F-15SG Eagle to the Singaporean Air force. A well traveled individual,
Mr. Moree has lived in countries such as Korea and Saudi Arabia, in addition to having traveled extensively in most of Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia
and the Philippines. Mr. Moree has also lived in California, Colorado, Michigan, Nevada
and Virginia. In his spare time, Mr. Moree enjoys reading, physical fitness, skiing and
hiking. Mr. Moree and his wife of 19 years, Kyung, have 2 sons mid they currently reside
in Springfield, Virginia. Table of contents THE START AND EVOLUTION OF BILATERAL DEFENSE RELATIONS BETWEEN SINGAPORE AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
At 699 sq. km, 1.444 percent water and a population of just under
4,480,000 people, the island country Singapore, also nicknamed the "Lion City",
would fit into Rhode Island, the smallest state of the United States almost four times over. (Wikipedia) Given the above statistical information, it would be
natural to assume that a tiny, seemingly insignificant country such as Singapore
would be vulnerable and easy prey to an invasive foreign power. As such, to deter
any would-be aggressors, Singapore has, over the course of many long years,
developed its very own armed forces to counter any conceivable threat against the
nation. However, in the early years leading up to the eventual formation of the
Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) on 17 July 1967, Singapore's small physical
size, lack of natural resources and general inexperience in nation-building, had
prompted its early leaders, such as then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, into
realizing that for Singapore to build up an effective deterrent defense force which
would go on to safeguard the country for many uncertain years to come, it was of
utmost importance that Singapore establish strong bilateral ties and defense
relations with other foreign countries. Generally speaking, the objective of such
relations would be for these countries to lend a helping hand to mould the
Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) into a full-fledged military defense force capable
of defending Singapore without it having to rely on others in times of strife. To this day, Singapore maintains healthy bilateral defense relations with countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, France, and most notably, the US. To truly understand the perspective of someone who has been closely involved as a "practitioner" in the development and growth of these defense ties, one must examine the character and inner workings of bilateral defense ties between Singapore and the US, the broad relationship between the two countries in the past and present as well as look at future trends.
On the morning of August 9965 at approximately 10 a.m., then Prime
Minister Lee Kuan Yew appeared on national television and tearfully announced
Singapore's separation from Malaysia. Singapore had been forced out of Malaysia.
Singapore accepted it in order to avoid communal bloodshed between the Chinese and the Malay races. With the tears shed, the televised press conference over, and the news splashed all over the front page of the Straits Times, Singapore was on its own. It had become an independent, sovereign state. The machinery of early nationhood was immediately set in motion. Within days, the island country was declared a Republic and the Legislative Assembly renamed as Parliament. Malay was retained as the national language, and English, Chinese and Tamil continued as official languages. (CIA world fact book) For a small and young nation such as
Singapore, international recognition was a priority. In order for Singapore to prosper into the future, it had to make the international community take notice of it.
On^^29eptember 1965, Singapore was officially recognized as the 117
member of the United Nations. Yet, such early successes following independence
seemed to be overshadowed by the plethora of immediate, awesome and
intimidating challenges Singapore faced as a result of being suddenly thrust into
independence. This not only tested its resolve to survive in the ever-changing
world but also simultaneously had many skeptics wondering if Singapore could
survive in the future. Here was a small island of no more than 600 sq km
strategically located at the southern tip of the Straits of Malacca where the western
Pacific Ocean meets the Indian Ocean. (Singapore was slightly smaller in size in
1965 before later land reclamation works added on the extra area.) Singapore
could boast no natural resources other than its people and little industrial
experience. Furthermore, though the island's defense was bolstered by the
presence of British forces, many were already aware of the British contemplating
the withdrawal of their troops from Asia. Singapore's future role in the region was
most uncertain.
Many pundits were skeptical and doubtful of Singapore's prospects after
independence, predicting a general relapse into economic decay and mounting
political turbulence and viewing separation from Malaysia as temporary rather than a permanent state of affairs. To further add to Singapore's troubles, the Cold
War was then at its height. Southeast Asia was in an uncertain flux, having become a maelstrom of great power politics with the escalating Vietnam War serving as its centerpiece. Before the year was over, India and Pakistan would be at war over Kashmir, and Indonesian President Sukarno would be overthrown in a bloody coup that saw the murder of several Indonesian generals. To the north,
China was in the midst of its internal turmoil caused by its self-inflicted Cultural
Revolution. It was at this time when the region was arguably going through one of its most difficult periods since the conclusion of World War Two that the island nation Singapore was bom.
From this broad overview of events occurring prior to and immediately after
Singapore's Independence, it was clear that one of the more pressing challenges which Singapore faced was the issue of self-defense. The big dilemma was how a tiny, fledgling island country would defend itself against possible adventurism in a region wrought with conflict. For the leaders of the young country, the only discernible answer to this problem lay beyond Singapore's borders, and not surprisingly, one of the countries sought out by Singapore to aid in the development of a defense force was the US. However, before any bilateral work on developing defense co-operation could begin, Singapore had to first establish diplomatic relations with the US. This was initially not only slow to accomplish. but also laden with controversy. In part, this could have been due to remarks made about American leaders by then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who made public a particular incident in 1960 involving the Central Intelligence Agency, and openly accused US leaders of lacking in "depth and wisdom" (Liu 69). Naturally, this displeased the US and thus Singapore's request for aid in defense building was flatly refused.
The furor died down within a few months and on Aprir41966 - a week after the first group of American troops arrived from Vietnam for "rest and recreation" with Singapore's approval - the two countries agreed to exchange ambassadors, thereby marking the official establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Singapore and the United States of America. (The
Singapore Foreign Service) An article published in The New York Times on April
5 1966 under the heading "Singapore Agrees to Exchange Ambassadors with
Washington" explained that the decision to exchange ambassadors "reflected growing co-operation between the two countries and apparent policy adjustments since Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew's anti-American statements last autumn".
(Liu 71)
With the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries,
Singapore's defense force and its defense relations with the US have gained tremendous strength. The Singapore military and overall defense force, though small in size like the country, is now currently considered one of the most influential and technologically advanced military forces in all of Southeast Asia.
In the early stages of the two countries' bilateral ties during the late 1960's, although the US declined to lend its military expertise to help Singapore build an army due to then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew's scathing remarks about US leaders, bilateral ties continued to grow and mature. On October 16th 1967, Prime
Minister Lee Kuan Yew made his first ever diplomatic visit to the US, marking one of the earliest major milestones in the two countries bilateral ties since
Singapore's independence. It was during this visit that the St Louis Dispatch said of the Prime Minister that "as a skillful politician, he has displayed at once his preference for non-alignment, a flair for making news and a talent for circumspection, in a city where foreign heads come and go with cut-and-dried predictability" (Liu 71), further showing how bilateral ties were gradually changing for the better.
In 1968, Singapore's growing sense of security was given a jolt with the unexpected news that the British were to relinquish their Singaporean bases and accelerate their departure to 1971 - four years earlier than expected. (Singapore
Pictorial History) This was in large part due to the British economy being unable to meet the financial demands of maintaining such a large presence in Asia. To three-year-old Singapore, this would have been an absolute catastrophe, as this now meant it was truly defenseless. It was at this point in time that Singapore truly
began to pursue bilateral defense relations with the US in earnest.
With bilateral relations with various other foreign countries such as the US
steadily growing and improving, Singapore was one step closer to realizing its
dream of actively seeking to establish a broad-based international network of
military contacts as part of its overall strategic plan to strengthen recognition of its
existence as an independent sovereign state. The US in particular continued to
play an instrumental role in providing crucial advanced training of hundreds of
officers, pilots and technical specialists, many of whom would have had no chance
of furthering their training back home in land-scarce Singapore. Aspiring
Singaporean air force pilots selected to fly the F-5E, F-5F and F-16 fighter in particular benefited tremendously from the US Air Force (USAF) flight training
and live-firing exercises. In addition, Singapore's very own commando battalions
had the rare opportunity to train alongside the US Navy SEALs, the elite Special
Forces' of the United States. (Wikipedia)
One significant event which transpired in and around the region durin;
this period of time which affected both the US and Singapore and subsequently
helped US influence take root in Southeast Asia was the infamous Vietnam War,
which lasted from 1959 to April 30, 1975. Being a staunch supporter of the US,
Singapore supported the stationing of US forces in Asia as a necessary counter- measure against both the Vietnamese military expansion in the region as well as
the establishment of the Soviet military presence in Indochina. However, the 1975
communist victory in Vietnam and the subsequent re-evaluation of the US role in
Asia and the Pacific worried the military leaders of Singapore. Then Singaporean
Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew conceded that although it was understandable that
the US was unwilling to become involved in another Southeast Asian war, the
Association of South-east Nations (ASEAN) states lacked the military capability
to prevent a possible communist revolution in Southeast Asia. Although such a
revolution never really occurred, Singapore viewed the stationing of US troops in
Asia and the Pacific as a major advantage to the development of Singapore and
ASEAN as a whole. (Singapore military relations with other countries) This proved to be one of the major milestones in the development of better bilateral ties
between the United States and Singapore as the stationing of US troops in the
region not only boosted the overall security of the region but the military
capabilities of all ASEAN nations as well.
Moving on into the 1980's, with the continual support of the US, Singapore's
armed forces continued to evolve into a modem day military force. In January
1985, Singapore ordered eight F-16 fighters and took order for another 12 more.
This purchase was under the Peace Carvin I Foreign Military Sales program, and
was intended to replace the ageing Hawker Hunters which had been left behind by the long-gone British Army and were still serving with the Republic of Singapore
Air Force (RSAF). (www.F-16.net) Ever since, the F-16 has been the mainstay of
the RSAF, continuing to defend the Lion City's airspace well into the 21^^
Century. On November 10 1990, Singapore and the US signed a defense
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). As stated by Basant Kapur in his book:
"Singapore Studies: Critical Surveys Of The Humanities and Social Sciences",
"under the MOU, four American F-16 fighter aircraft are on rotational deployment
in addition to the logistics command of the US Seventh Fleef (Kapur 174). Later
on in 1999, the MOU was amended to permit all US Naval vessels to berth at the
Changi Naval Base, which had been completed in early 2001. On the whole, this
MOU was especially important because it transformed Singapore into one of the
major staging points for the deployment of US military assets in the region and re
opened the once closed doors to the United States, allowing them to once again
maintain a military presence in Southeast Asia. Specifically, the 1999 amendment
to the MOU even allowed for the berthing of the mammoth aircraft carriers of the
US Navy at Changi Naval Base, which was previously impossible in all ASEAN
naval bases because of the huge size ofthese ships. With Singapore's constmction
of the new naval base at Changi, American carriers could now once again project
USAF airpower to the Southeast with relative ease. (www.Globalsecurity.org) However, the goodwill between the two countries took a tum for the worse in
May 1994, when American teenager Michael Fay was given four strokes of the cane for vandalizing several cars and stealing road signs (Koh 423). Initially, K.
Kesavapany stated that US trade Representative Mickey Cantor, a good friend of then President Bill Clinton, made the holding of the World Trade Organization
(WTO) conference in Singapore conditional on a "satisfactory outcome of the Fay case - satisfactory to Washington" (Koh 195). Singapore however stood firm in its resolve to mete out an appropriately just punishment of Fay and proceeded with the caning. The aftermath of the whole debacle led to a serious deterioration of bilateral ties between the two countries. Although the incident did not result in the complete breakdown of bilateral ties between the two countries, it was one of the major low points of bilateral ties between the two, and quite possibly could have brought bilateral defense ties to an untimely halt or end.
On SeptemDcSODIl, the world witnessed first-hand the horrors of global terrorism as Al-Qaeda hijacked several commercial airliners and crashed them into the World Trade Center in Manhattan as well as the Pentagon in
Washington D.C, resulting in the deaths of over 2,973 people, a majority of whom were civilians. (September 11 victims) Barely a day later on September 12 2001,
The New York Times published a newspaper article in which US President George
W. Bush vowed to exact punishment for the 'evil' acts committed the previous day, which many considered to be the Pearl Harbor of the 21^^ century. President
Bush's "punishmenf came in the form of the Afghanistan invasion on October 7
2001, which sought to oust the Taliban regime and capture Al-Qaeda leader
Osama Bin Laden - the alleged perpetrator of the attacks of 9/11 - and the controversial Iraq War, which empted on March 18 2003, during which President
Bush hoped to remove Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein from power and subsequently, disarm Iraq of its alleged Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), thus officially launching the War or Terrorism. (Wikipedia) From that fateful day on, the world as a whole became a less secure place, and countries on all four corners of the globe were galvanized to take up arms against the global threat of terrorism which continues to threaten the very way of life of billions of people around the world today.
With the events of 9/11 plunging the vast majority of the world into the War on Terrorism, Singapore's leaders have been quick to identify the threat of extremist Islam and tap into broad concems about the perceived trend of "political
Islam" in the region. This existential threat of Singapore's predominantly Muslim neighbors turning towards radical Islam or introducing radical Islam into their political agenda has become a major concem of Singapore's leaders at this point in time. Singapore's concem about the Islamist terror threat clearly reinforces its long-standing leaning towards the US in regional security measures. It's regional security strategy relies explicitly on the US because it has a positive assessment of
the US role in the region and a deep preference for a regional security structure
guaranteed by the US military.
Today, Singapore is co-operating much more closely with the US on key
counter-terrorism and counter-proliferation issues, including its continual
participation in the Container Security Initiative (CSI) and the Proliferation
Security Initiative (PSI) aimed at intercepting illegal weapons cargoes transported
across the world via land, sea and air. As such, strengthening dialogue,
confidence-building and co-operation in the region and beyond, and strengthening
the concept of "Total Defense", very much forms the pillars of Singapore's
Defense Policy. (Singapore's defense policy) The incorporation ofthese two key
thrusts would enable Singapore to have an adaptive defense policy that would be
relevant well into the 21^ century and that its future will be protected, especially in
an era where global terrorism seems to have become a significant endemic
problem.
Besides the question of dealing with the threat of global terrorism, bilateral
defense ties between the US and Singapore also have gone a long way to greatly
benefit the SAF in a great number of ways that have transformed it into a
formidable fighting force. Of particular interest is the positive impact that bilateral
ties have had on the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF). When Singapore
first acquired the Chinook helicopter in the early 1990's, the RSAF was able to jump-start its newly formed Chinook squadron by sending the squadron to train in the beneficial environment of the US Army, which was by far the most
experienced Chinook operator in the world. The Peace Praire Detachment was
dispatched to Dallas to train alongside the Texas Army National Guard. This
long-term agreement not only enabled the RSAF to continue training alongside the
highly experienced 3rd Battalion of the 149th Aviation Regiment in Dallas, Texas,
but once again helped to overcome the constraint of land and airspace back in
Singapore. (Apache Longbow squadron inauguration) In addition, the RSAF was
now able to participate in joint exercises with units from the US Army, Navy and
Air force without having to travel thousands of miles from Singapore. These
opportunities also provide the RSAF with access to better training facilities as well
as boosting its role in Search and Rescue operations, recovery operations and the
general support of the SAF overseas training. At the same time, the Peace Prairie
Detachment also readily committed its resources to assist in any local
humanitarian and disaster relief operations, as was evident in the aftermath of the
destmction caused by Hurricane Katrina, which devastated much of New Orleans,
Louisiana, during which the Chinooks of the Detachment flew a grand total of 61
sorties, which assisted in transporting almost 540 ton of equipment, humanitarian aid, cargo and supplies and the rescue of over 800 evacuees. (News release conceming the RSAF relief efforts in the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.
A few years prior to the events of Hurricane Katrina, between the years of
1999 and 2001, Singapore had purchased a total of twenty AH-64 Apache attack helicopters equipped with millimeter wave fire control radars and digital connectivity (Apache Longbow squadron inauguration) which further augmented and added real punch to the RSAF'S arsenal. Not long after this purchase, another landmark defense agreement between the two countries was inked. In October
2001, the Peace Vanguard detachment was initiated in Marana, Arizona with the assistance of the Arizona National Guard. (Peace Vanguard Detachment news release) The Peace Vanguard Program gave the newly born Apache Squadron valuable access to firing ranges and training opportunities. The training with the
US Army also enabled the RSAF to attain the level of operational readiness required of equivalent US Army Apache units. (Peace Vanguard Detachment news release) According to Dr. Tony Tan Keng Yam, the Singaporean Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister for defense, with the new Apache attack helicopters, the
SAF now have "the ability to deal decisively with the security challenges posed by global terrorism." (Tony Tan speech)
On September 2006, after three years of training in Arizona, the final four new 120 Squadron Apache Longbows arrived in Singapore from the Boeing Rotorcraft Systems facility. Colonel Tan Wee Ngee, commander of Sembawang
Air Force Base in Singapore, felt confident that the arrival of the Apache's would
mark a significant era in the history of the SAF. Said Colonel Tan, "In the US,
they have had very good training value. They were able to practice and train the
components, the proficiencies and the competencies. Now we set the stage for a
new era for our defense force." (Chinook facility News release) Overall, Such an
arrangement enhanced the already close and warm defense relations between the
US and Singapore, and added to the extensive defense interactions and
cooperation between the armed forces of the two countries. (Boeing Catalog)
But perhaps the most important bilateral defense issue in recent times is
the Strategic Framework Agreement (SFA) between the US and Singapore for a
closer co-operation partnership in defense and security. Signed on July 12 2005 in
the Oval Office of the White House between Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and
President George W. Bush, the preamble stated a) The reaffirmation of the
excellent relations between Singapore and the US based on shared strategic
perspectives; b) The recognition of the persistent threats to global security and
stability, including terrorism and the proliferation of weapons-related items and
dangerous technologies; c) The recognition of the strategic value of defense
partnerships around the world to deal with the uncertainties created by these
threats, and the role that Singapore plays in this network; and d) The desire to enhance the long-standing and successful bilateral security cooperation between the US and Singapore to defeat these threats and to promote peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. (Strategic Framework Agreement preamble) In the joint statement from President Bush and Prime Minister Lee released by the White
House, the Agreement was deemed a "natural step in the expansion of bilateral ties." (White House press release) It was bom out of a shared interest to address common threats such as WMD, which called for even closer ties between
Singapore and the US. The agreement recognized Singapore's role as a major security co-operation partner and will expand the scope of current co-operation in areas such as counter-terrorism, counter-proliferation, joint military exercises and training, policy dialogues and defense technology. Undoubtedly, the Agreement will further enhance the regional stability of ASEAN by supporting the continued security presence of the US in Southeast Asia.
With the SFA signed and its terms and agreements put into effect, Singapore and the US could now look to more ambitious bilateral defense prospects. Already the two countries have begun to take the first steps into the future with Singapore picking the Boeing F-15SG Eagle over the French Rafale fighter. This was another milestone in the ongoing defense relations between the two countries' armed forces as it highlighted Singapore's decision to choose an American-made fighter to complement its already formidable military arsenal over a French fighter and conversely America's willingness to supply advanced Singapore with advanced
weapons, logistics and training as part of the proposed F-15 fighter sale,
exemplifying the closeness of the two countries. (China Daily news release)
Although a terse Singapore Ministry of Defense statement said it was "in the
process of seeking final clarifications and contract negotiation with Boeing",
Singapore is still expected to order about 20 F-15SG's armed with sophisticated
weaponry such as supersonic air-to-air missiles and satellite-guided bombs for a
total of some one billion dollars (800 million euros). (China Daily news release)
Leading historians in the fields of diplomacy, US-Singapore relations
and the overall history of Singapore such as Professor Chan Heng Chee and
Gretchen Liu all note that in the early years of Singapore's history, Singapore had
sought to build up a capable nation which would be able to stand firmly on its own
two feet without having others carry its weight and based on today's results, it has
most certainly succeeded. Indeed. Professor Chan has even stated at one point,
regarding Singapore's relationship with the US that "The power of ideas, the
shared interest and personal relations helped to convert the relationships of the two
countries so much that many describe our relationship as "never been better"."
(Koh 116) Although pursuing defense relations with other countries was amongst its topmost priorities, Singapore never really had interest with building up a strong defense force at least until 1975, when the British forces stationed in Singapore were expected to depart for the UK. However, with the British leaving a full four years earlier than expected, Singapore at last realized that defense was a key ingredient in Singapore's recipe for continued survival and existence.
Ever since then, although bilateral ties between Singapore and the US started out slowly and hit the occasional rough patches, as K. Kesavapany put it,
"An interruption" (Koh 193), these ties have always picked themselves up from where they left off and continued onwards. Thus, within a short time frame of three decades, bilateral defense ties have greatly expanded, matured and grown tremendously. Historians have been quick to point out that over time, this perseverance and determination to build a better, safer future between both parties has led to various major dialogues and agreements which have collectively propelled Singapore and the US into a period of superb bilateral defense co operation like never before.
In conclusion, bilateral defense relations are of great value importance to these two countries. To the US, strong bilateral defense relations with Singapore are actively pursued as Singapore provides a platform for projection of force and influence into Southeast Asia and beyond. This is even more important today because of the war against terrorism and a more complex global strategic environment. The US is a major player in the balance of power in the Asia-Pacific region, and to do this, it not only has to maintain its "hard" power, but also to continue to wield "soft" power through the battle of winning hearts and minds and maintaining good relations with ASEAN, whose member countries include Islamic states. With Singapore, ASEAN and the US as partners, the
Southeast Asian region would more likely continue to enjoy peace, stability and economic growth.
Table of contents Interview transcription
Interviewee/Narrator: Stephen J. Moree Interviewer: Jaime Wong Date: 20*" December 2006 Location: L&N Seafood Grill, Pentagon City
Jaime Wong: This is Jaime Wong, and I am interviewing Mr Stephen Moree as part of the American Century oral history project. This interview took place on the 20 of
December 2006 at the L&N Seafood Grill, Pentagon City. So Mr Moree, could you
please tell me how bilateral defense ties between Singapore and the United States came
about after Singapore's independence in 1965, and what were the initial motivations for the two countries in those em^ly years?
Stephen Moree: Oh, that's a very involved question and I'm going to try to take it one
part at a time and try to give you my viewpoint of how it transpired. And this is just my
reading of history, but I know that early on, Singapore was a small country, not very
much in the way of natural resources, other thmi its people, and the Prime Minister at the time, Lee Kuan Yew, a very far-sighted individual, recognized that Singapore was not
going to make in the world through power or military strength and what not and so he
very deliberately cultivated ties with countries in the region and countries outside the
region, and with the United States because up to that time, there was the motivation, I
feel, was the fear of communism, because in the early 60s, the idea of communism
spreading throughout Asia was a very real fear.
JW: So with the fear of communism, Singapore was actually looking outwards? SM: I think so initially, because... and I've heard this from Ambassador Chan, the
current Singapore Ambassador to the United States, that in those early years, again as
Singapore was looking at the spread of communism, that Lee Kuan Yew knew that
communism was not the way to go for Singapore. Singapore would be able to succeed in
a capitalistic free economy but communism threatened that and I've heard Ambassador
Chan and also Lee Kuan Yew in interviews talk about how the importmice of the United
States can (stop) the spread of communism primarily in Vietnam. Ultimately we were
unsuccessful in Vietnam as we know. We were unable to win that war and communism
created a unified state in Vietnam, but according... again, if you listen to Lee Kuan Yew,
he says it is very important that American involvement in South Vietnam created time for
Singapore to order its government, to order its... way of life, and establish the
procedures, and establish itself as a state, so that it could grow. Right now, this economic
powerhouse that Singapore is... and also Lee Kuan Yew understood that the United
States would bring the counter-balmice to the region. Again, remembering the time this is
all happening in the 60s, you had a lot of the European nations were divesting themselves
of the colonies in that area, usually through revolution, or through very violent means.
Look at Indonesia with the Dutch, again Malaysia with the British, and after the British
left Malaysia, there was quite a big communist insurgency against the British for several
years that had to be contained. So, Lee Kuan Yew knew that the United States would
bring balance to the region, would help counteract China, and provide that... and because the United States shared the same economic and social principles that he saw, he envisioned for Singapore, Singapore and the United States almost became natural
pmtners mid friends.
JW: I see. Do you think that the departure of the British from Singapore in 1971 played a
part in driving Singapore towards putting greater importance on developing bilateral
defense relations with the US? And why do you think this is so?
SM: I think it did. I think... just as a digression, the way the British divested themselves
of their colonies after World War Two was shameful in some ways. The British were
very eager to... instead of managing the transition from colony to independence, the
British were very quick just to pull out and leave, and so I think that's typified by the
issues that were going on. You saw that... how Malaysia was formed, and then the
violence... Singapore separated from Malaysia, and so I think, Lee Kuan Yew, again
(being) a very fm-sighted Prime Minister, he knew that having strong relations with other
countries is, number one, would help fill the vacuum left by the British, mid also again, as
we mentioned earlier to form that buffer against communism that was spreading throughout the region. So, I think Singapore learnt from that relationship of being a
colony to understanding that you could not just be dependent on one country. You need to have good relationships at home, good relationships in the region. Southeast Asia, and
good relationships mound the world, which I think, you see today, is pouring through. JW: So the departure of the British one of the major events that helped Singapore
actually to pursue better relations with the United States?
SM: I think so. I have a hmd time explaining exactly why. I think that, again, the void left
by colonialism, and Lee Kuan Yew saw that void, and he saw where... you know, that
vacuum left by the British needed to be filled somehow, and he saw the best way to fill that was not a close connection or reliance on one country, but establishing friends.
That's why it was all kind of odd, almost you could say if you could go back 40 years
ago, when this was happening, that Lee Kuan Yew would reach out to the United States.
But he did, recognizing that having strong friends outside the region, and strong friends
with the most powerful economy at that time could only benefit Singapore.
JW: So on to next question: how did US involvement in Southeast Asia during the
Vietnam Wm play a part in the further development of US-Singapore defense relations?
SM: Well, as I mentioned a couple of times, Singapore, again from listening to
Ambassador Chan and Lee Kuan Yew, was that, at the time as communism was moving throughout Southeast Asia and trying to establish a beachhead in Southeast Asia, the
United States at the time was the only country that was, number one, powerful enough,
and number two, willing to help try to stem that pour of communism that was seen as a threat to the entire region. And so, I think when Lee Kuan Yew and the government of
Singapore understood that having good relations with the United States would help economically, would help protect the small country of Singapore and also would only...
and also, I think, the United States was far enough away so that there was not enough of a threat of becoming a US colony. So we would like to say, when you sleep with the lion,
you'll have to be careful. But in this case, Singapore, being far enough away from the
US, I think it very safe to make friends with the US, and the understanding that we would
probably be the one country that was not interested in exploiting or t^ing over Singapore
or using the relationship to our own advmitage. Now do we pursue our own national self-
interests? Of course we do, but we are able to do that in mutual understanding with the
countries in the region, mid with Singapore.
JW: So Singapore's distance from the United States helped to?
SM: Reduce some of the threats.
JW: And stabilize the region?
SM: Yes. We talk a lot today that Singapore is... Typically, we don't use the word "ally"
of the United States. Singapore would much better be known as a friend and partner of the United States, because there is a lot of baggage that comes with the term "ally".
JW: Yeah. SM: But friend and partner can mean a lot of things. And so, I think the United States ...
Yeah, distance helped, the fact that we are out of the region, and any military might that
we were putting forward into the region was not for the purposes of colonialism or to
establish American bases and territory in the region. But was really what we would mean to be a true effort to help protect the region, and help democracy. And Singapore from the
very beginning, espouses democratic principles that we believe in the United States.
JW: I heard whilst you were speaking about the past, that "Lee Kuan Yew" came up
several times. So, I'm assuming that Lee Kuan Yew played a huge part in actually
overseeing the start of bilateral relations between the United States and Singapore?
SM: Absolutely. I mean if you can... I mean Lee Kuan Yew is actually one of the great
men of history in the 20 Century. If you look at where he started, with the small island
nation of what was in Singapore, what it is today, you'll have to just be amazed with
what he did, literally one man, and how he brought along, and how he was able to look
into the future, and how he was able to m^e, probably at the time, unpopular decisions,
or to plot a course with the government, in saying yes, our relationship with the United
States is in our best interests. To align ourselves, or at least, not treaty alignment, but
policy and the way we aid the world with the United States. But yes, of course, he was a
visionary. He was a pragmatic leader, and really was just an awesome combination of
what it takes. Again, (he is) really one of the great statesmen of the 20 Century. JW: And so, I assume we really have him to thank for the excellent relations between the
United States and Singapore?
SM: Yes, now that doesn't memi that he did it by himself, and that there hasn't been built
by a lot of people, but I think it was Lee Kuan Yew that really plotted the course and said this is in our nations best interests, mid yes, he is a big part of that.
JW: I see. Moving into more recent times, how has the growing importance of defense technology affected the substance and pace of defense relations between the two
countries?
SM: Well Singapore prides itself on... Well, it doesn't have a lot of natural resources; it
has its people resource. And its people resource is best exemplified by taking technology,
making it better, making it work, and then exporting it to the rest of the world. That's one
of Singapore's benchmark things, and that's high technology. And so, one of the benefits
of good relations with the United States is the fact that we are able to share our technology with Singapore. The United States does not always have the best technology.
There are many high technology centers around the world, but I think that overall, the
United States has done a great job of taking technology and making it work for people,
and making it work in the country. And so, I believe that in Singapore, and again as part
of that relationship with the United States, has greater access to the technology that we
have. We do consider Singapore to be a friend and partner, has been a very faithful friend and partner, and we in the United States, we tend to look at it as - we reward our friends
and partners. And so, we feel that sharing the technology and working the technology is a
good way to help maintain the friendship.
JW: So, technology is a really big thing in this day and age.
SM: Absolutely. Technology nowadays leads to economics, and most countries look out
for their best self-interests by having a strong economy to take care of the people, and
have a strong country. That's basic governance. And so, Singapore is always going to ...
and Singapore does not just have relationship with the United States. Singapore has good
bilateral relationships with any number of countries, where they have shared technology.
Technology is a big thing. We'd like to think that it is not the only thing. We'd like to think that shared values, shared way of life, because Singapore is much more a Western
country in some ways than some Asian nations. And it is still very much mi Asian flavor there, but when you look at Singapore in the way they conduct business, it is very much a
Western style type nation.
JW: And this has played into defense relations?
SM: Yes, absolutely. Singapore has... And a lot ofthis is... I don't know how much of this is... I'm sure it's going on in Singapore, but Singapore has been a... I won't say it is
a silent partner, but has been a very faithful pmtner, and a very reliable partner, especially after 9/11. If you look at the United States' war on terrorism, Singapore has been one of
our staunchest allies, but Singapore prefers to do things very quietly, we'd like to say,
below the radar. And, you know, they don't like to broadcast a lot of what they do. But
Singapore is a very good friend. We appreciate that. And in the United States, we like to
remember our friends. And so, anything that we can do in order to have that good
relationship with Singapore, we'd want to do that. And so, our bilateral relationship, the
military relationship, is one of the best we have in the world, right now.
JW: Moving on to the next question, in your personal opinion, what me some of the more
major milestones in bilateral defense relations between Singapore and the United States?
SM: Well this is going to be a long answer, because I happen to know a lot about the
subject.
JW: Great!
SM: First of all, let's look at some of the things we have with Singapore that are unique, with any country in the world. It is common knowledge. You can do a Google search.
But Singapore for many years has based military units in the United States. We have F-
16s in Arizona, we have Apaches and Chinooks helicopters in Texas, and in Arizona, I
believe. And we used to have KC-135 tankers in Kansas. No other country in the world
has that kind of defense infrastructure in the United States. And that was when I cmne to work in this program; that was one of the surprising things to me. I never knew that
myself, and I was in the Air Force for 20 years. And so it was amazing for me to see that
we have such a good relationship with Singapore. But Singapore trusts the US in that we
would allow Singapore to have access to our bases, to our military infrastructure. So that's one aspect. That's something that's unique with any military in the world. If we
also look at Singapore, the Singapore Air Force, basically, you could call it a mini United
States Air Force. Singapore Air Force flies all the same air planes that the US Air Force
flies.
JW: Every single one?
SM: Every single one. Maybe there is a minor exception or two, but if you look at the
main combat forces in the Singapore Air Force, it is a mirror image literally of the US Air
Force. The training is the same, we train together, your pilots come to our schools and
you come to our exercises. And so, the training is the same. The way we operate is the
same. We have a term that we call inter-operability. That means how well can the
military of our nation work with the military of another nation. In the (case of) Singapore,
it is probably as high as any country in the world because we fly the same aircraft, we
share the same training, we share the same experiences, mostly we share the same
language, English, and so, the mesh between Singapore and the United States is from that
aspect is very tight. And as I mentioned earlier, recently Singapore concluded the order
purchase of the F-15 aircraft from the United States, which again is going to further cement that relationship with the US Air Force, with the US military for 25 years to come
in the future, because of the shared aircraft and the shared training and the things that go
along with that. There are mmiy other areas that we share together, some of them in the
way of intelligence and that type of sharing - which we probably can't go into very
much, but there is a lot of other collaboration and meshing together that is seen everyday
- the aircraft sales, mid the training, you could see that miywhere, but there's a lot of that
as well. Of all the nations that I work with, and I work with quite a few, I haven't seen two air forces that mesh together better. And I think that helps cohere the entire
relationship between the United States and Singapore. It's how well our militaries have
worked together.
JW: Now you mentioned earlier about the F-15SG. Would you cme to elaborate how it
actually began?
SM: Well it began five years ago. Singapore was interested in modernizing their fighter
force. They had a number of older aircraft, and just like when you go out to buy a new
car when it gets old, so they needed to invest in new air plmies. Singapore initially looked
at six different aircraft from around the world. And they went through years of testing
and comparison, and negotiations, and ultimately at the end of that time, just last year,
2005, they decided to pick the Boeing F-15 aircraft as their next choice for their future fighter. And number one, we, the United States of course liked that because it is a US
company, and also, it meant that we are going to continue that relationship with Singapore. But also, we're pleased that Singapore would once again have that inter
operable fighter aircraft that we could... because we consider Singapore a friend and a
partner. Now, it is highly doubtful to me that we will ever fight together, unless it is in the defense of Singapore. Singapore government policy is - they don't normally export
fighting forces out to actually take part in coalitions, and that's fine, we understmid that.
We never actually... I believe, as far as, fighting together unless it is in defense of the
islmid. Better get back on my train of thought there, talking about the F-15... (Both laugh)
But knowing Singapore's forces are there, that they fly the same aircraft as we do, their
pilots are trained. Again, because we have that relationship, and that extends to other things. If you go back to the Indonesia tsunami of December 2004, Aceh Indonesia and
also in Malaysia and Thailand, and Singapore turned into a hub for disaster relief, and the
success of the relief that we were able, that we and the Singaporemis mnong other nations
were able to put into the region was the direct result of our being working together and
how our militaries functioned. And so we were able to provide very good ... and so we
are happy to see that the Singapore Air Force has a very well developed disaster relief
which they used in search and rescue and also defense of your sovereignty. So, the sale of the F-15 means that and more. It memis that our air forces will continue to work together.
It will mean that Singapore has a great defense capability. And that it just becomes more
of a springboard for other areas of co-operation.
JW: So what you're trying to say is that bilateral defense relations is not just limited to the military, but is also humanitarian. SM: Exactly. Sometimes the military of the world are better off when they are doing things unrelated to the military. Unfortunately, the military is created for war, and that is
an unfortunate necessity of life. But also, the military is used in so many other ways: for
humanitmian relief, for training of young men and women. We'd say in the United States that the US military is the best job training program in the world, where young men and
women who may not be able to go on to school are welcome to come to the military.
They leam discipline. They lemn a trade. They lemn how to better themselves as people.
Believe it or not, the military turns out great people. And so the militaries can do that.
And so when we can work together with other partner nations like Singapore, for
humanitarian relief, for disaster response, by having that good bilateral defense
relationship, I think we are greater than when we are alone. We'd like to bring that
synergy, and the tsunami relief in 2004 was a great case of that, where Singapore just
opened up its air bases, opened up its port facilities, Singaporean troops deployed to
Indonesia, helicopters and relief aircraft, doctors, medical teams, and civilian apparatus,
and we were able to deploy with you because we have worked together so much and
really complement each other. And so, that's where our strong bilateral defense relations
came into play.
JW: So the major thing between the two countries is inter-operability.
SM: Absolutely. It is amazing when I look at... we kind of light-heartedly joke a little bit
in our Air Force, that of all the countries we deal with, if we ever have open spots in our training courses, or in our exercises, we can always call Singapore at the last minute, and they are always very happy to come. Other countries will make excuses, but the
Singapore Air Force will always come, because that is one of their top priorities: inter
operability with the US with their training and with their experience, and so, we are very
grateful for that and we enjoy the relationship that we have with Singapore. And so, inter
operability really becomes the key and it has helped us so much in so many different
ways. Hopefully, it is of benefit for the Singapore military as well. Because it is then... the exposure we have with your Air Force.
JW: How does Singapore contribute to US defense interests with regard to Southeast
Asia or in terms of the United States' global defense strategy?
SM: Wow, ok. That's another long answer. (Both laugh) Because of so much talk
about... Oh, case in point, this is going back to Lee Kuan Yew, and after the United
States had, unfortunately, militarily lost the war in Vietnam, and we were ?losing? in
Vietnam, Lee Kuan Yew still recognized that the United States' presence was needed in
Southeast Asia, to provide the regional balance and the regional stability that he knew that Singapore needed to function and survive. In the early 90's, we had a situation where
in the Philippines we had a big naval base by mutual agreement with the government in the Philippines. The United States military left the Philippines, and as a result, we had no
access to deep-water ports in Southeast Asia or even East Asia, for our large surface
vessels like our aircraft carriers mid things like that. They were nuclear carriers, and so a lot of countries wouldn't let us dock in their countries because of their opposition to
nuclear power. Recognizing this, the government of Singapore, at their own expense,
built a pier at Changi Naval Base that would accommodate the largest US ships in the
Navy and gave us mi open invitation to base out of their port and use it for port calls mid
(things) like that, and be our logistics base. And again, that was Lee Kuan Yew and the
government of Singapore's vision about keeping the United States engaged in the
stability and the balance of Southeast Asia. You know, still to provide a place for us to
operate out of. And when you think about that, when you think about what he did, and
what the government of Singapore did and how it benefited the United States, our ability to deploy forces, to be based out of that region, it's amazing. It is hard to calculate the
value of something like that. And so, that is only just one example. After 9/11, during the
global war on terrorism, Singapore provided quite a bit of support. I won't go into details,
but... provided quite a bit of support to US forces in support of the global war on terrorism and support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan,
and helped built forces that way... global forces... and so, things like that, you know,
shows the strength of the defense relationship, the bilateral relationship, but also how that
relationship benefits the US and helps us project power in these causes of the global war
on terrorism mid other things, directly supported by Singapore. So, it's quite an mnazing thing.
JW: Interesting. And so, what you are trying to say is that, strategically, Singapore is the
largest, staging point in Southeast Asia for the US military assets... SM: I don't want to... I wouldn't go that far... because, again, we respect the
government of Singapore and their sovereignty. We also respect that Singapore lives in a tough neighborhood. Singapore is a small islmid surrounded by a sea of larger countries,
and Singapore has to walk a fine line geopolitically between its support and friendship for the United States and balancing out its needs to be friends within the rest of the region.
Some of those countries which me not... never friendly with the United States. And so,
we don't want to... we never want to overstay our welcome, and so we avoid the
appearance of basing forces in Singapore or calling Singapore our Southeast Asia aircraft
carrier or things like that. We have to respect the role that Singapore has chosen to play,
and again, they want to... and we respect Singapore's support for us mid we respect their
position. So while there are some very small US forces that are based in Singapore full- time, we never ask to have a permanent base in Singapore. We never ask for long-term
basing. When we come, we stay for short periods of time and then our forces move on
because we don't wmit to overstay our welcome. I think if there was a regional (crisis), as
it was in tsunami of December 2004, I mean, Singapore threw open its doors, not only to the US military, but to other militaries and other organizations that were willing to help in the tsunami relief. And so, while we appreciate the support we received from Singapore,
again, we never want to overstay our welcome or overstep our bounds as to, treating
Singapore like an outpost of the United States, we have to be careful about that.
JW: Has Singapore's lack of Imid contributed to this as well? SM: No, I don't think so. Because there are several air bases in Singapore and it's not too
hard to put another squadron of aircraft in one of those bases, or to have some docking
facilities for ships there. I think it has more to do with respecting Singapore's
sovereignty, and respecting Singapore's role in the region, and never wanting to put at
risk our good relationship with Singapore. We are very happy to base Singaporean forces
in the US; it's good for your military. But then, on the other hand, we never want to
assume that the same thing applies to us in Singapore. It wouldn't be good for Singapore to have US forces based in Singapore, mid we understand that, and we respect that.
JW: On the day of September 11 , the world saw first-hand the horrifying terrorist
attacks on United States soil. How do you think that particular event has changed United
States-Singapore defense relations?
SM: I think it has made them stronger, because after 9/11, Singapore very quickly came
forward with their official regrets and their interest in doing whatever they could in their
power to help the US. How do I say this? Either get through that period, or to assist us in they knew what was coming. That's sort of the global war on terrorism. And Singapore
has been a faithful ally these last five years, sometimes probably against their better judgment: the war in Iraq, you know, is not very popular... Some questions, you know,
how long it has gone on, and why we are involved there. However, Singapore has not
been a critic of that policy and Singapore has very quietly supported that policy, mid is...
I'm sure you've read in the newspapers... Singapore has provided some small forces to
support the operations in Iraq, which we are very grateful for, and they maintain that. So, it took a strong relationship, and made it stronger, mid our appreciation for Singapore this time is unlimited. Singapore has been a great friend and partner, and we appreciate that.
JW: Beginning with the war on terrorism in Afghanistan in April 2003, many Muslims
have taken a more anti-United States attitude, believing the US to be against Islam and therefore evil. Islamist terrorist groups have used this to justify acts of terrorism around the world, in particular, against the West. In the context ofthis global war on terrorism,
how important is it for the United States to maintain bilateral defense co-operation with
Singapore, and why do you think so?
SM: Partly, as I mentioned earlier, the role that Singapore plays in the region... why,
sometimes it can be tenuous. It's also Singapore serves as a bridge for us to other nations
in the region. Singapore is much closer to Malaysia and Indonesia than we are now. And,
Singapore has, in its own way, has contributed and has helped facilitate US relations in the region with these other countries, primarily Indonesia, which in 2004 had their first
democratic elections in many years, and there's a democratically elected President. And
Indonesia is on an upswing now. I mean we are seeing a lot of positive changes in
Indonesia. And I think a lot of that has to do with the positive example that Singapore
sets, number one, in the region. And also by the fact that Singapore almost serves as an
honest broker, where people can meet, or Singaporeans introduce Indonesians to the
United States counterparts and vice versa mid have a good common ground to meet. And
so, Singapore does serve as a bridge, and we hope to do that with Malaysia and with
other countries in region. Singapore again serves as that honest broker. Everybody seems. to some extent, to trust Singapore, which I think there is a lot of jealousy in the region
over Singapore's economic status and economic position, but still, people still respect
Singapore and understand what it brings to the region. There're a lot of Singaporean
investments in countries in the region. And so there is a big economic... but anyway,
back to the question... Singapore serves as that bridge towards the United States that can
help calm some of the other neighbors that say that the United States is anti-Muslim or
anti-Islam. I know Singaporean diplomats, who would step in and say, that's not quite that way. We work with the Americans, we work very closely with them, and we know them. They are not anti-Islam. They are anti-terrorism; they me anti-extremism. Butthey
are not anti-Islam. And so, Singapore again, being a friend of the United States helps
smooth over some of the things and gives another perspective. And again, they are not
viewed as US lackeys or colonies, but people listen to Singapore and respect their
opinion. So Singapore does a great service for the United States.
JW: So what you are saying is that Singapore is a middleman?
SM: A middleman, absolutely. And this is kind of where the genius of Lee Kuan Yew that has come into play, where Singapore can be both very close to the United States and
have these great defense and other relationships, but still cmi be viewed as having an
element of honesty and an element of independence where they can interject into a
situation mid say, well, you know, the United States may not be quite as bad as you think,
or here is why they are doing something like this. So, middleman is very good term. JW: Now, in your line of work, how would you describe a typical working day, and
could you also give me an idea of the kind of work that you do and the responsibilities
you have as a military officer in the US Armed Forces? How much time have you
actually spent working and living in Southeast Asia?
SM: Well, let me go back and start from first, a typical day - my typical work day?
JW: Alright.
SM: Ok. Well, each day is a little bit different. But primarily, my job responsibilities me to help oversee the US Air Force's international engagements with nations in Southeast
Asia. Now, there are a number of people throughout the Air Force that do this, from
people that work in the Pacific to others in other parts of the Air Force, but primarily our job in headquarters Air Force is to oversee, we call them our engagement activities.
JW: Uh huh.
SM: And so, I would spend my day working with the nations of Southeast Asia,
primarily with their Air Attaches here in the Embassies in Washington. We make plmis
for meetings, for personal exchanges, for visits or exercises and armed forces exercises together. We do a lot of foreign military sales. We help facilitate the sale of US military
equipment to our partner nations in Southeast Asia. And so, my day is involved in meetings, with phone calls, discussions, with studying. I have a lot of studying to do. And
with training, because of ... I'd better go to the next pmt of the question. How much time
have I actually spent in Southeast Asia? I'd never lived in Southeast Asia. I've never...
prior to my job here, I was in the Air Force. I was primarily in, what we'd call a
Northeast Asia foreign area officer, where my specialty and my language backgrounds
and my experiences were in Northeast Asia - Korea and Japan. And when I came to work
in the Air Force International Affairs Office, I was hired as a Northeast Asia specialist.
Again, I have a lot of experience in Korea and Japan, in that area, and through different
personnel moves, they needed an experienced person to work in the Southeast Asia mea,
and so, trusting in my experience and the time I had in the job, they moved me to work in the position as Southeast Asia Branch Chief, overseeing our activities throughout all of
Southeast Asia. And so, in the last year and a half I've had this job, I have traveled
extensively in Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, working with the
militaries in those governments and again, all those things that I have described, working
with those partner nations on that. And so, I stay pretty busy, but it's an enjoyable job.
It's probably the best job I've ever had because this is part of the world (where) I didn't
have a lot of experience with, but I find it very fascinating now. I have even started
studying Indonesian Bahasa, just to be able to talk to the people when I go there. I would
have tried Mandarin Chinese, but at my age, it's just a little bit too...
JW: Hmd?
SM: Yes, hard for me. (both laugh) JW: When you mentioned a bit earlier about foreign military sales, would you care to
elaborate on, besides F-15s, how foreign military sales have developed defense relations?
SM: Well, initially, if you go back to the history ofthese things, primarily, after World
War Two, we primarily wanted to give countries the ability to defend themselves.
Primarily, from the Cold War, you had a .... what we perceived to be the communist threat from the People's Republic of China and from Russia, and we wanted to give those
countries friendly to us a chance to defend themselves, and so, foreign military sales
came into play, where mms were trmisferred from the United States government mid sold
or given to foreign countries, and since the end of the Cold War, we kind of got away from that because countries now don't have the same threats or that smne fear. However,
we found that there is still tremendous interest in US militmy equipment mid technology,
which for a long time was viewed as some of the best in the world. And so, there was an
interest there for that, and so, we don't sell our military equipment just to anybody, we
don't do it haphazmdly, we don't do it to make money, which most countries think we do
it to make money. No, we don't. We rarely m^e money on this stuff. But what we do is
we build relationships with other countries because when you buy an aircraft from the
United States government, it's more than just an airplane sitting on an airport. There's training, there's supply and maintaining of that aircraft, there's the how you employ it,
how you operate the aircraft. And all those things build a relationship between our Air
Force mid the air force we sold the equipment to. Now we are very happy that our partner
air force's have the ability to defend themselves. We me also happy that we have a great chance to positively influence the country that we have sold the equipment to. We in the
US Air Force, we feel that we have a professional military, we feel that we do very well
at exporting those American attributes that we are proud of: democracy, freedom, and things like that. And so, we feel that by selling those equipment, it gives us a chance to
positively influence the air force of another country and their officers and the way they
do business. And so, for better or worse, we hope that we're being a positive influence
instead of ... mid so that's why we do foreign militmy sales these days.
JW: Now you mentioned earlier that primmily in the early days that because of the Cold
Wm after World War Two that communism was the reason for foreign military sales, do
you think that, today, with the end of the Cold War, terrorism has taken the place of
communism?
SM: Yes and no. I think communism or the threat of communism was almost about a
way of life. A country just would not say: we are just going to pick this kind of
communism because we like it. It was kind of an all or nothing deal. You either were, or
you weren't. And so, it really threatened your whole nation, your whole way of life.
Terrorism is more selective. Terrorism usually does not really threaten an entire country.
Usually it doesn't threaten an entire people; it just threatens very small, isolated elements
of those countries. And our foreign military sales really, for what we sell that for in the
Air Force, really they are not used against terrorism. It's very hard to use fighter aircraft
against terrorist cells. So, that's really not the reason we do that, but again, the bigger
principle of... by selling these air equipment, and then the training and the exposure, and the relationship we develop, we hope to raise the level of professionalism and raise the
level of the air force that we're doing business with, and so, generally, we make them
better through their being better equipped. They become less... how do I say this...? We
reduce the countries' desire to be extremist or what not... we give them a stake in the
world, and I think countries and groups that resort to terrorism feel that they have been
shut out of the process, and so they resort to terrorism, and try to right the balance, so to
spe^. And so, by giving countries motivation not to turn to terrorism by feeling that they
are pmt of the overall structure and the group, then we hope to reduce that.
JW: So what is your advice for us so that people will instead pursue bilateral defense
relations with the US?
SM: I don't know about that. I think that it is just overall... Singapore has seen the most
value in the relationship with the United States, that for what... because again, we like
Singapore and they like us. But each country has to move within its own defined national
security interests, and there is a certain element of being mercenary in those things. A
country has to follow its own self-interests. And to be successful, it has to pursue it
religiously. And I think, in Singapore, where history has shown, they have felt that their
relationship with the United States is in their best self-interests. And so, they elected to
pursue engagement at every level: defense, economies, government, and it's been
beneficial to both our countries. So, I think that is kind of the overriding thing that will
survive things which I would like to perceive as temporary threats like terrorism or what not. I think that's not a huge motivator but because we are facing the situation, the
relationship in its own path is helping us to react much better.
JW: From your personal perspective, how do you see Singapore playing the kind of role
it should as a defense partner of the United States, in terms of further enhancing the
security of Southeast Asia, mid in the context of improving global security?
SM: Well first of all, for all the things I have said so far, I'm not sure if I care to
categorize Singapore as a defense partner. We have no mutual defense treaty with
Singapore.
JW: So it's more of a partner?
SM: It's more of a...good friends. It's hard to categorize. I don't want to... But again, as
I mentioned, Singapore is a very sensitive to the term of "ally". We have no defense treaties together. We don't have a history, other than just recently of actually doing real
war military operations together. But I think if ... and again, we talk about Singapore's
unique role in the region, again, Singapore feels that by having a very strong defense, a
very credible defensive force, that they get through their partnership with the United
States helps them do their role in Southeast Asia, of that of a middleman, of being a
country to be respected and a country that should be having an important role in the
region, and not marginalized. And so, all those things that Singapore has gotten... we've
gotten a lot from the relationship with Singapore, but we'd like to feel that Singapore has
gotten a lot from the relationship with the United States as well. JW: Indeed. Of all the bilateral defense ties going on, how do you think, in particular, the
United States-Singapore Strategic Framework Agreement, which was just signed last
year, would fit into all these?
SM: We were very happy to sign this Strategic Framework Agreement because we are
very interested in having closer ties with Singapore and what they did in just very broad terms: you know that they agreed that we would work more closely together on a wide
variety of issues: technology sharing, defense engagements, and in other parts of the
agreement, that we agreed to work together on. And so, I think that's very important to
Singapore because it helps to put down on paper the fact that, yes, as part of technology
shming mid technology co-operation, we me firm partners with the United States. And so,
I think it is importmit for Singapore to capture that and take advantage of that, and then
again, that's taking advantage of their relationship with the United States. And for the
United States it was good for us, in that we take a big step again towards defense
partnership. Again, it is not a treaty; it is not an agreement to support each other
militarily, but still, it is a big step forward to have a written agreement between us and
Singapore which we've never had before, that really says, yes, we me friends, we want to
co-operate, and that we are kind of linking all these together to make all these happen.
And so I think the message it sends is very importmit.
JW: So basically, it is really an agreement that is mutually beneficial to both countries. It
is not so much... so rigid as mi agreement but really mi understmiding... SM: Well, an agreement means a lot of things. It is not a treaty, it is not a compact. It is
an agreement, and I think it does bring a lot... it's a lot for Singapore, and it's a lot for the US. And again, Singapore's main idea is that they take technology, and make it work
for the masses, so to speak, or to leverage the technology. And right now, there is
recognition that the United States is a very highly technological country where a lot of the advances in technology (that) Singapore wants to share in with us. So by having this
agreement, that memis you me going to get part of it. And so, we look forwmd to working
more with Singapore.
JW: So with all that being said, looking towards the future, what are some of the more
immediate challenges you would expect that Singapore and the US will face, either together or separately, in the defense of their joint and individual defense interests?
SM: Well, fortunately, we me at a period in history where I think realistically, Singapore
can look around and say, nobody is going to invade us. You know, we have friendships
with the region, we have working relationships, and so, we are not looking there. But I think one of the biggest... I've got to preface this as personal opinion... But I think of the
future, I think that Singapore is going to be faced with a resurgent China and with
conflicts there between... there is a lot of shared culture and heritage with China, and
China is very intent in the next 25 yems of having much more regional influence in Asia,
East Asia and Southeast Asia, and right now, the United States, you might almost say, is a direct competitor, and Singapore, as we go into the future, might find it a harder and
harder time with balancing Chinese interests against US interests, against Singapore's
interests in Southeast Asia. We are already seeing it in the ASEAN forum, the ASEAN-
Plus-Three forum, where you know China is very interested in keeping the US out,
keeping it as an Asian-only forum. And Singapore, to its credit, has been vocal about
wanting to keep the US included in that forum, not as a member, but as a direct observer
and under silent, but that comes into direct conflict with China on their pmt. So we are
going to see more of that in the future, as a resurgent China, flexing economic muscle and
military muscle, will seek, and is seeking to become the dominant power throughout Asia
and Southeast Asia, and to minimize US influence. So, I think that is going to be a
challenge, and how we react to it is... time will tell.
JW: So what you are trying to say is that China will definitely play a very big role in
influencing the defense strategy of the United States and Southeast Asia?
SM: Absolutely. Already does. We, in the United States, view China as a competitor, as a threat, as a potential friend, and we in the United States would like nothing better than to
have good relations with China, that China has good relations throughout Asia, and is a
very responsible member of the world community. That's the best-case scenario for us.
Don't know if that's going to happen or not. And so, militaries are always prepared for the worst. And so, our military looks and says how are we going to have a military
engagement with China? And so, how that would play out could affect other nations in
Southeast Asia and East Asia. We see it with the disagreement over Taiwan, with Chinese territorial claims throughout Southeast Asia. So far, it hasn't really impacted
Singapore yet. But China has a number of territorial conflicts with all of its neighbors:
India, Vietnam, Japmi, you name it... Philippines, Spratley Islands, the whole thing. So it will be interesting to see how it all works out. Hopefully, it will work out, good for everybody.
JW: It sounds like that the future is going to be very interesting and exciting.
SM: Absolutely. I mean, where I'm at right now in my job, I have kind of a front-row seat to a lot of what's going on, it's exciting, to see what is going on in Indonesia especially. You know, how we see Indonesia as coming out of long history of one-party political rule and what not, we have a democratically elected President there, who is trying to reform the government. There were many fears about the Balkanization of
Indonesia, that separatists and that other parts of Indonesia would split off, creating a very unstable situation in Southeast Asia. But so far. President Yudhoyono has done a good job of helping to calm those fears. And again, a large part of that is the example that
Singapore has shown, and now, with Singapore friendship and help. You know, Thailand unfortunately had a military coup there back in September, but it was a bloodless coup and, hopefully, they are on the right road to getting a democratic government and
President back in there. So there are a lot of good things happening in Southeast Asia right now, mid Singapore is right in the middle of it. So you're right. It's very challenging and very exciting. And hopefully, it's going to work out for everyone involved, so we'll see. JW: I have one final question.
SM: Uh huh.
JW: What are the things that you personally enjoy doing, both at work and outside work
during your leisure times?
SM: During my leisure times, I love to read. I read history mid foreign affairs. I love that,
because it is not only personally interesting but also it helps me in my job. And I love the
engagements that I have with our international partners and friends. It's mainly... a better
world citizen you might say, because I've had lot of exposure throughout all of Asia and try to lose some of that typical American myopia that we get accused of quite a bit,
sometimes with just cause, and so, just by virtue of that, reading, studying, it's both
personally and professionally very enjoyable.
JW: So I guess you really love your... (unintelligible)
SM: I'm sorry?
JW: So I guess you really love your work. SM: I do. I love my work. I have a great job. And I love what I'm doing. I retired from the US military so that I could take this job as a civilian, so that I would have... As a
military officer, I would have been forced to move. I didn't want to move out ofthis job.
So I retired to take it as a civilian. So it has worked out very well for me.
JW: Well, is there miything else that you would like to elaborate for me?
SM: Oh no. I think we've covered it. I've probably talked too much as it is (Laughs). But
I've enjoyed this very much. I've enjoyed your questions. They me very good questions.
Very thought stimulating. And so, I hope my answers have some benefit to you as you do
your research. So, alright. Thank you, Jaime.
JW: Thmik you very much, Mr. Moree.
-oOo-
Table of contents Analysis
The F-15SG, GhangiM^val Base and the Strategic Framework
Agreement probably words of places and things which do not mean much to the casual
observer. But to those persons involved in the ongoing bilateral defense relations between
Singapore and the USA, they represent those people's life work. One such person none
Mr. Stephen J. Moree and due to the sensitive nature of his job, it comes as no surprise that most details regarding it have not been released to the press and thus, the general
public as well. Most people rarely realize the incredible amount of work and effort that
goes into the establishment of good bilateral defense relations between the USA and
other foreign countries, in this particular case, Singapore. However, with the Oral History
Project, there now is a unique window of opportunity to get a "behind the scenes" look at
Bilateral Defense Relations between Singapore and the United States and the various
departmental personnel that are involved in its day to day activities and are therefore
responsible for ensuring the continued evolution and augmentation of the defense
capabilities of both countries. In today's fast paced world where the looming threat of
global terrorism is omnipresent, the historical value of an interview such as this is almost
unparalleled and of vast importance to the general public, especially coming from an
individual of Mr. Moree's stature and seniority. From this, one can gain an insightful
look into the inner workings of the American aspect with regards to bilateral defense
relations between the two countries by examining Mr. Moree's oral recount of the rich
history that involves the two countries' bilateral defense ties and the future which lies
ahead. In short, the Oral History project is a valuable conduit that not only links yesterday and today but also preserve's the individual's first hand account in the archives
of modem day history.
Oral history is more of a first hmid recount of a particular event that has occurred.
Unlike other traditional sources of history such as textbooks, mass media such as videos
and films and the internet, oral history presents an unadulterated and hence "raw" view of
an individual on any particular subject matter and presents it from the individual's
perspective and is also an opportunity for previous generations to pass down their
knowledge to present and future generations alike. This is of particular importmice in the field of history, where accuracy and life long lessons are much prized by historians and
students of history alike. As historian Studs Terkel once said, they uncover the "Living
Repositories of our past." (Project resources)
In this intervieiJK^c&fe traces the past, present and future of bilateral
defense relations between Singapore and the United States along with the various
milestones in history which came into play as well. In addition, he talks about his role as
Southeast Asia Branch Chief of the Department of the Air Force and his experience and the work and responsibilities that he bears as Branch Chief. Although most of the
interview touches on very important and significant events such as the impact of 9/11 on
an international scale along with important political figures such as George W. Bush and
Lee Kuan Yew, there are three areas in particular that are not only integral in the ongoing
bilateral defense relations between USA and Singapore, but also extremely important mid
personal to Mr. Moree. These meas include the term "Inter-operability" mid its relation to defense relations, the purchase of the F-15 SG Eagle by the RSAF mid the Boxing Day tsunmni of December 2004.
In his own words, MrMoree defines inter-operability as how well "the military of
our nation work with the military of another nation."(Wong 33) Without doubt, this term
"inter-operability" has allowed for the fostering of closer bilateral defense ties between the two countries and consequently, the development of a very fruitful and productive
partnership between the two countries mid nowhere can this be better observed than after the devastating Boxing Day tsunami of 2004 which devastated much of Southeast Asia.
The aftermath ofthis disaster saw an outpouring of aid from countries around the world, the USA and Singapore included. Due to the long stmiding friendships between the USA
and Singapore, both countries' armed forces were able to complement each other and
work towards the benefit of the survivors and victims of the disaster alike, "...we were
able to deploy with you because we have worked together so much and really
complement each other." (Wong 36) Furthermore, the disaster cast a positive spotlight on the militaries of the world and the two aforementioned countries, particularly the USA,
which was at that time already one year into the unpopular Iraq War, portraying them not
as aggressors but as a life saving force which formed the backbone of various relief
operations across the region, thus further underlining the need for the international to
function as a cohesive unit both in times of peace and war. As Mr. Moree says in the
interview "And so when we can work together with other partner nations like Singapore,
for humanitarian relief, for disaster response, by having that good bilateral defense
relationship, I think we me greater than when we are alone." (Wong 36) One significant event which Mdoree was personally involved in and oversaw
was the sale of the F-15SG fighter to the RSAF. Although it may seem as nothing more than another arms sale between two countries, the F-15SG was in reality, more than just
another airplane in Singapore's msenal. As Mr. Moree put it, "It means that our air forces
will continue to work together. It will mean that Singapore has a great defense capability
and that it just becomes more of a springboard for other areas of co-operation." (Wong
35) Therefore, possessing such an intimate knowledge of defense relations places Mr.
Moree at the "frontlines" of history as he has shown in this interview that there really is a
great amount of history regarding such a seemingly obscure and minor topic.
The actual historical value of what is said by Mr. Moree is obviously great. From the transcription, it is clear that he reveals a great deal more than what the press or other
government agencies do. This is most evident in the areas where he describes the
importance of inter-operability with regards to the RSAF in particular. "... because that is
one of their top priorities: inter-operability with the US with their training and with their
experience..." (Wong 40) This is something which the press rarely reveals. Furthermore,
Mr. Moree also reveals that the period in which bilateral defense ties occurs in is about to
enter a new era with the rise of China, which many consider to be the next world
superpower. Mr. Moree states "We, in the United States, view China as a competitor, as a threat, as a potential friend..." (Wong 51) Although the parts regarding China cannot be
actually backed up by my previous research of the topic, it is still vastly important as it
reflects not just anybody's view, but somebody who has plentiful knowledge about
defense and political issues alike. What is even more important is that his words seem to echo that of those spoken by Professor Chan Heng Chee. As Professor Chan said "The
power of ideas, the shared interest and personal relations helped to convert the
relationships of the two countries so much that many describe our relationship as "never
been better"." (Wong 21) This quote supports all that Mr. Moree says and Therefore, I
believe it would be appropriate to say that the historical value of what he talks about is of
great value to the whole of world history up to this point in time. Undoubtedly, should
one seek to gain a clearer picture of the topic, the logical solution would be to interview
someone higher up in the military and political hierarchy who has more knowledge and
experience in the subject.
In conclusion, I would say that this Oral History project has been so much more than a mere history project. Although I was initially nervous at the prospect of
interviewing someone who had accomplished so much in his life, I soon found myself
immersed in the interview process. Granted, there were a few mistakes (such as speaking too softly and conducting the interview in a crowded place) that I had made during the
interview which had lowered the quality ofthis project, but as a whole, this experience
has been nothing short of exciting as I have learned and gained so much more. Coming
from Singapore which teaches history in a more "enclosed" environment as compared to
America, I would say this project is obviously a welcome breath of fresh air as it allows
me to stretch my legs and put into practice what we students leam in the classroom. It
endowed me with the reasoning that you do not have to be a five star general or a
millionaire to be a historical interviewee; conversely, I have also learned that one does
not have to be a Harvard graduate to be a historian. We are all historians. Young or old. rich or poor, history lives in us all: what matters most is that we preserve mid pass on the
experiences which have played into our lives. Although there was still a lingering aspect
of control which comes in the form of grades and a rather strict, yet comprehensive guide
book courtesy of our teachers, for the most part ofthis project, I am happy to say that I
was granted free reign when it came to other aspects such as choosing my interview topic
and interviewee.
On a much more personal note, as a Singaporean studying here in the US and about to enter into national service with the SAF in less than two years' time, I feel that it
would be useful for me to have a better understanding of the ongoing bilateral defense
relations between Singapore and the US. Furthermore, presented with this once-in-a-
lifetime opportunity to interview a senior military officer currently serving with the
USAF, I believe that I should make full use of it to gain a deeper understanding of the
history and substmice behind the bilateral defense relationship between Singapore mid the
US. Armed with the knowledge my interviewee, Mr. Stephen Moree, has impmted to me,
I now understand how much effort every individual working in the armed services around the world puts into his or her job just to make the world a safer place for all of us to live
in.
Table of contents WORKS CONSULTED
Boeing produced product catalog regarding Apache helicopter news in the years of 2006-2007. 15 December 2006
China Daily news releases conceming Singapore's pick of the Boeing F-15 over the French Rafale. 15 December 2006
09/07/content 475770.htm> CIA information on intemational countries. 15 December 2006 Complete list of September 11, 2001 victims. 15 December 2006 http://www.septemberllvictims.com/septemberllvictims/victims_list.htm F-16 Air forces - Singapore. 15 December 2006 16 users articlel7.html> Goh, Evelyn. Cooperation on Transnational Security Threats. 26 Annual Pacific Symposium, Honolulu, Hawaii, 8-10 June 2005 Kapur, Basant. Singapore Studies: Critical Surveys of the Humanities and Social Sciences. Singapore: NUS publishing, 1999 Koh, Tommy, and Chang Li Lin. The Little Red Dot. Reflections by Singapore's Diplomats. Singapore: World scientific Co. Pte. Ltd., 2005 Liu, Gretchen. Singapore A Pictorial History 1819-2000. Singapore: Archipelago Press, 2000 —. The Singapore Foreign Service the first 40 years. Singapore: Editions Didier Miller Pte. Ltd.. 2005 News release conceming the RSAF relief efforts in the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. 15 December 2006 5/l/.html> News release detailing inauguration of Peace Vanguard Detachment. 15 December 2006 Facilities. 15 December 2006 _nr.html> Preamble of the Strategic Framework Agreement between the USA and Singapore on July 12 2005 from the Intemational Relations and Security Network. "Rhode Island" Wikipedia: The free encyclopedia. 15 December 2006 Singapore Military relations with other countries. 15 December 2006 _securitv> Singapore's defense policy. 15 December 2006 December 2006 The establishment of Singapore Changi Naval base. Available at Tan Keng Yam, Tony. Inauguration Ceremony of Peace Vanguard Detachment at Marana, Arizona. Marana, Arizona. 9 April 2003. Teo, Chee Hean. Commissioning ceremony of the facilities for the Peace Prairie Programme. Grand Praire, Texas. 6 November 1997. The inauguration of the Apache Longbow squadron. 15 December 2006 White House press release of the joint statement from President Bush and Prime Minister Lee, released by the White house. Table of contents