The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will conduct a bilateral military exercise in Singapore from Sept 1. The two-week Exercise Cooperation will end on Sept 14.
This marks the resumption of bilateral military exercises, halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, said the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) in a statement on Monday (August 29).
This will be the fifth edition of Exercise Cooperation since its inauguration in 2009. The theme of the exercise this year, as in its last iteration in 2019, will be urban Counter-Terrorism (CT) Operations. It will involve personnel from the SAF’s 3rd Singapore Division and 1st Commando Battalion, as well as the PLA Southern Theatre Command-Army’s 74th Army Group.
Both armies will conduct a battalion-level command post exercise and engage in professional exchanges on CT operations in support of a rescue scenario. Personnel will also engage in other activities such as fast roping, rappelling, hand-to-hand combat, small-arms live firing, and cohesion activities.
It is part of the Singapore Army’s ongoing efforts to conduct bilateral and multilateral exercises with foreign armies to enhance mutual cooperation. This exercise underscores the warm and friendly bilateral defence relations between Singapore and China, Mindef added.