Britain Makes Singapore Its New Asia Defense Hub

On December 12, Britain announced that it would be setting up a new Asia defense hub in Singapore. The setting up of the new regional British Defense Staff (BDS) and the selection of Singapore for its location is testament to both Britain’s growing commitment to the Asia-Pacific as well as the city-state’s important place as a center for emerging regional cooperation on shared challenges.

Superficial analyses of Britain’s role in Southeast Asia wax lyrical about its long colonial legacy before abruptly concluding that Britain retreated from the subregion as part of a broader withdrawal of its forces east of Suez in 1971. In fact, the country continued to retain a small but nonetheless significant presence in various forms, including a garrison of 650 Gurkhas in Brunei as well as the Five Power Defense Arrangements (FPDA) with Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, and New Zealand, which remains the longest standing multilateral security arrangement in Southeast Asia today.

Nonetheless, Britain has also been recently looking to increase its modest presence in Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific more generally. The Asia-Pacific was one of the areas of focus in Britain’s latest Strategic Defense and Security Review, which was released in November 2015. Priorities for Southeast Asia included engagement on issues like humanitarian aid and disaster relief (HADR) and countering violent extremism as well as stepping up the U.K. commitment to the FPDA through exercises and joint training.

The introduction of a new regional BDS in the Asia-Pacific located in Singapore is meant to facilitate these efforts. As Defense Secretary Michael Fallon put it in a statement, a greater ground presence and more resources would allow the defense ministry to both better focus its efforts in the region and reinforce bilateral and multilateral security relationships. The Asia-Pacific hub in Singapore, Fallon said, would be directed at reaffirming engagement, training, and exercising with partner nations.

If that is the goal, then Singapore as a location makes good sense. In general, Singapore is highly networked and regarded as a reliable regional hub for many other governments and companies. Already, the city-state’s regular hosting of events such as the annual Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s leading defense dialogue, and the biennial Singapore Airshow not only provides forums for like-minded people to convene, but also leads to official government meetings and the conclusion of defense deals on the sidelines.

Indeed, at this year’s Singapore Airshow, Stephen Philson, the head of the Defense and Security Organization (DSO), Britain’s arms export agency, foreshadowed the country’s greater focus on Asia by noting that the government saw more regional opportunities because many buyers of U.S. equipment were now looking to dual-source their purchases of defense capability. Philson was part of the largest British delegation that had ever attended the Airshow, which also included the defense procurement minister, the chief of the air force staff, and other senior officials.

More specifically, within Asia, Singapore is already a key partner for Britain as well as a regional hub in areas of cooperation ranging from HADR to maritime security – precisely the areas of British concern where it is looking to do more bilaterally as well as multilaterally with allies and partners like the United States and Japan. Apart from being an FPDA member, Singapore hosts a regional HADR center, the Changi Regional HADR Coordination Center (RHCC), as well as a regional maritime security information-sharing center called the Information Fusion Center (IFC). It also continues to take the lead in facilitating conversations on shared challenges, as evidenced by its hosting of the inaugural ASEAN Ministerial Conference on Cybersecurity in October as well as the East Asia Summit Symposium on Religious Rehabilitation and Social Integration in April.

To be sure, the setting up of this new regional hub is only a modest step. And Britain does face challenges as it seeks to increase its presence in the Asia-Pacific in general and Southeast Asia in particular, from budgetary constraints at home to questions about its role abroad, especially following a referendum where a majority voted to leave the European Union, widely known as Brexit. British officials are well aware of these challenges, which, to be fair, are hardly unique to them. They also have a point when they emphasize privately that the fact that their Asia focus remains in spite of the obstacles that exist should be testament to their commitment, which, after all, is rooted in self-interest as much as it is in goodwill.

On the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue back in June, Fallon told reporters that even though Britain never really left Southeast Asia, it was now definitely back. The setting up of this new Asia hub in Singapore is certainly evidence that the country is willing to back up those words with concrete actions as well.