Boston, MA -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/12/2013 -- The Singapore Defence and Security Report for Q2 2013 examines the country's strategic position in the Asia-Pacific region and the wider world. It provides an overview of the contemporary geopolitical challenges facing the country, and the challenges it may face in the future.

The report examines the trends occurring in the country's current and future defence procurement, and the order of battle across its armed forces. The intention is to provide a clear and concise discussion of these issues. The report's general conclusion is that Singapore has responded decisively to changes in its geopolitical environment brought about by the rise of China by further strengthening its alliance with the United States and encouraging Washington to play a greater role in South East Asia.

The most important element of this strategic decision from Singapore's perspective will be the stationing of up to four US Navy littoral combat ships in Singapore, as finally confirmed by the Singaporean government in June 2012. The first LCS, USS Freedom, left the US in March and will be in Singapore by May. The Obama administration has also embarked on a major diplomatic push in the Asia-Pacific, and Singapore is at the centre of those plans. Singapore is also reported to be increasing its activity in relation to the F-35 stealth fighter aircraft programme, with some analysts expecting a formal Singaporean order to follow in 2013. However, setbacks for the F-35 programme in Australia and Canada may deter Singapore from ordering the aircraft this year.

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Within South East Asia itself, Singapore's military pre-eminence will remain unchallenged for the foreseeable future, with spending on defence set to remain high and a range of advanced new capabilities either already procured or in the process of being procured. However, Singapore's 2013 defence budget rose by a relatively small amount, reflecting the Singaporean economy's disappointing growth in 2012. If the economy continues to perform poorly - and only 2.5% growth is forecast for 2013 - then Singapore could start to lose ground against some of its South East Asian neighbours, which are growing their defence budgets quite aggressively.

Singapore is actively engaged in defence diplomacy with many important regional partners, such as Australia, India, Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam. There is currently regional volatility centring on territorial disputes between China and a number of other parties, but Singapore is set to remain on the sidelines of these disagreements, and to focus on further strengthening its own bilateral relationships.

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