Defence spending around the world (click to enlarge)

From Official Wire:

Singapore’s defence spending will amount to US$11.4bn or 6% of GDP in 2009. As a percentage of GDP, this amounts to one of the biggest defence budgets in recent history.

Singapore has consistently had one of the largest defence budgets in the Asia Pacific region. Given its small population base, Singapore has focused on maintaining its expenditure on sophisticated and superior weaponry. Singapore has consistently spent over 4% of GDP on its defence budget. However, the principal recent development affecting the future of Singapore’s defence spending is the recent rapid deterioration in economic conditions.

Singapore was the first Asian economy to slip into recession in the current global downturn, and will move deeper into recession in 2009.

According to advance estimates by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), Singapore’s GDP registered a dismal seasonally-adjusted annualised contraction of 12.5% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) in Q408 (its worst performance since at least 1980), due to a sharp fall in the services sector. On a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis, GDP contracted by 2.6%, implying that full-year growth for 2008 slowed to just 1.4% from 7.7% in 2007. The manufacturing sector contracted by 9.0% y-o-y in Q408, due largely to falling demand for electronic products in developed markets and a plunge in output for precision engineering.

Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean has announced that defence spending will amount to US$11.4bn or 6% of GDP in 2009. As a percentage of GDP, this amounts to one of the biggest defence budgets in recent history. The Defence Minister stressed the importance of maintaining military spending, noting that threats do not diminish but, rather, often emerge during testing economic times, owing to increased social and political frictions. He noted several factors that had enabled Singapore to build up its defence capability over time: careful spending, sourcing and upgrading second-hand equipment, an ongoing maintenance regime, and investment into research and development.

In February 2009, the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) announced that they will participate in a US-led task force in the Gulf of Aden designed to target pirates operating in the Gulf and adjacent waterways.

Singapore will supply a landing ship tank, two helicopters and two-hundred personnel. Joining an international flotilla comprising some forty-five warships from Europe, China and Malaysia, the SAF deployment will help to escort vessels traversing the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean, Red Sea and the Gulf.

Singapore Defence and Security Report Q2 2009

Picture from: Singapore’s defence spending ranked 4th worldwide. Why?

—-

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
You May Also Like

一国民服役人员 于台湾进行降落伞训练受伤

根据新加坡国防部文告,一名全职国民服役人员在前日(18日)新加坡时间晚间,在台湾进行的一项跳伞训练,遭受颈椎受伤。 有关国民服役人员事21岁的郭守杰(译音),事故后立即被送到当地医院,并进行手术直至隔日早晨。 目前伤者情况稳定,也留在重症监护室进一步观察情况,而我国的骨科专家已启程前往协调伤者的医疗照护。 国防部称伤者家属已飞往台湾的医院看望,而郭守杰也意识清醒,可与父母交流。父母则希望郭在接受治疗期间的隐私能获得尊重。 “国防部和武装部队将继续为伤者家属提供全力支持。” 该部在声明中表示,事故起因仍在调查中,并在调查结果出炉前已暂停培训。

A*STAR scientists develop technology to monitor how genes in healthy stomach cells are altered when cancerous

Scientists at A*STAR’s Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) have developed a technology…

Activist Sangeetha Thanapal receives stern warning from authorities after calling Singapore ‘a terribly racist country’

Vocal activist Sangeetha Thanapal has been given a stern warning by the…

Speeches of #Freemyinternet protest

Speeches made during the #Freemyinternet protest event at Hong Lim Park on…