SAF's training area in Australia now 5 times Singapore's size, marking a 'historic milestone': Heng Chee How

SHOALWATER BAY, Australia - The expansion of the Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA) in Queensland has been completed after eight years of development.

With the expanded training area now five times the size of Singapore, this means that the scale and complexity of overseas exercises involving the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) can be increased in the future, Senior Minister of State for Defence Heng Chee How said on Wednesday (Nov 13).

Heng was speaking to reporters after witnessing Singaporean and Australian soldiers being put through their paces during a simulated beach landing as part of Exercise Trident.

He also flew on a CH-47F chinook to view the new facilities within the expanded SWBTA and interacted with SAF and the Australian Defence Force (ADF) soldiers who participated in the bilateral exercise.

Jointly developed by Australia and Singapore since 2016, the expansion of the overall training area was set out in a treaty between the two countries in 2020.

State-of-the-art facilities such as the combined arms air-land ranges and urban operations live-firing facilities have been included in the expansion.

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Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen had previously said that the expansion of SWBTA, together with the adjacent Greenvale Training Area expected to be completed in 2028, will give the SAF a combined training area 10 times the size of Singapore.

Besides Trident, Exercise Wallaby, the SAF's largest overseas exercise, is also held in the SWBTA.

This year's Exercise Wallaby, held from Sept 8 to Nov 3, was the largest and longest since it first began in 1990 - more than 6,200 SAF soldiers participated in the unilateral exercise which has increased from six to nine weeks.

In a commemorative ceremony at newly-built Camp Tilpal, Heng said the completion marks a "historic milestone" between the Singapore and Australian militaries.

"It is a tangible symbol of the abiding trust between us, and elevates the bilateral defence relationship as we look forward to commemorating the 60th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations next year," he added.

Heng noted that this year marks the 34th year the SAF is training at the SWBTA.

"This significant achievement would not have been possible without the strong support of the surrounding communities. I would like to express our deep gratitude to all of you for welcoming the SAF… and extending your hospitality to our personnel," he added.

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chingshijie@asiaone.com