Singapore's armed forces to train in India

Singapore will train its air force and army units in India for the first time later this year as part of a defence cooperation deal signed between the two countries, Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean said on Thursday.

The Singapore Air Force personnel would begin undergoing training in camps in India run by the SAF on long-term leases by the end of 2004 while army units will commence exercises in early 2005, he was quoted as saying by a newspaper in Singapore.

Singapore, a booming industrial nation in Southeast Asia, trains its armed forces in about a dozen countries.

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"It (training overseas) provides some diversity, helps us learn new techniques and tactics in a different environment. It also a way by which we can overcome constraints in training space in Singapore," the defence minister was quoted as saying by The Straits Times.

India and Singapore signed a defence pact in 2003 and the navies of both the countries carried out joint exercise early in 2004.