Singapore’s Arms Develop Fast

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32348, 14 July 1970, Page 1

Singapore’s Arms Develop Fast

One effect of the new British Government’s determination to maintain a military presence in South-East Asia was that the Singapore Government was able to relax “ever so slightly” the pace of development of its armed forces, said Air Marshal Sir Rochford Hughes in Christchurch yesterday.

Sir Rochford Hughes, who is military and civil air adviser to the Singapore Government, said that in the last two years the pace of armed services development had been tremendous. “The determination of the Conservative Government to keep a presence in the area has meant a slight relaxation of pressure and as the Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew. said recently we can ease the foot off the accelerator slightly. “If there had not been a

change of Government then! we would have had to keep! the accelerator flat to the! boards, so to speak," he said. | Auckland-born Sir Roch! ford Hughes is in New Zea-i land for a few days. Yesterday he visited-the Royal New; Zealand Air Force base at 1

Wigram to see the progress of 15 Singaporeans studying at the No. 2 Technical Training School. About his appointment to the Singapore Government, he said that about 70 per cent of his work on the civil side was concerned with negotiating with British and American aviation interests about the establishment of an aerospace industry on the island. The concentration of such; an industry there in only a couple of years had been quite remarkable, he said. In addition to the provision of servicing and overhaul facilities, the assembly of certain aircraft and the production of spare parts, the British and American companies also did the servicing of the island’s Air Defence Command aircraft. The Air Command had established a Flying Training ) School through which the; ifirst course was now passing.; ! Instructors at this schoolj (were drawn from Britain and! ! Australia: while in New Zea-J ;land. said Sir Rochford Hughes, he hoped to recruit- | more? Other instructors -would be seconded from the!

; R.A.F. and the R.A.A.F. Un- ; fortunately he had been un- ■ successful in obtaining any from the R.N.Z.A.F. i This year Singapore had 50 , members of its armed forces : training in New Zealand. : The Singapore Army was ■ being trained according to the ■ standards of the Israeli Army : and a large number of ■ Israeli advisers were helping . in its training.' ! Sir Rochford Hughes said Jhe believed Singapore could make a significant contribution to the defence of SouthEast Asia. Its armed forces had impressed a number of notable visitors including Mr Heath who last year as Leader of the Opposition was briefed by the air marshal on the islands military developments. Just to show how stiff the Army training was in Singapore compared with that in New Zealand, he said the I hours of work were from j 5 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. in 40-minute periods with night j exercises three nights a week land only one Saturday off a I month. All Singapore’s armen forces were multi-racial, he Jsaid.