Singapore's Strategic Military Strength

Singapore is a small island nation located in Southeast Asia that has established itself as a strategic military power in the region. Despite its small size and population, Singapore has built a strong military that is capable of defending itself against potential threats.

Background

Singapore gained independence from Malaysia in 1965 and became a sovereign nation. It faced many challenges during its early years, including the threat of communist insurgency and diplomatic isolation. To overcome these challenges, Singapore's government focused on developing its economy and building a strong military to defend the nation.

Over the years, Singapore has invested heavily in its defense capabilities, and its military has become one of the most advanced and well-equipped in the region. The country's military strength is based on its ability to leverage its strategic location, invest in advanced technology, and maintain a highly trained and motivated military force.

Strategic Location

Singapore's strategic location has played a significant role in its military strength. Located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, Singapore controls the narrow Strait of Malacca, one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. This strategic location makes Singapore a critical hub for trade and commerce, and it also provides the country with a natural defense barrier.

Singapore has also established partnerships and alliances with other countries in the region to enhance its strategic position. The country is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and has a strong partnership with the United States. Singapore also maintains close ties with other countries in the region, including Australia, Japan, and India.

Investment in Technology

Singapore's military strength is also based on its investment in advanced technology. The country has one of the highest defense budgets in the region, and it has used this funding to acquire the latest military hardware and technology.

The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) has a strong focus on research and development, and it has developed advanced military systems, such as the Leopard 2A4 main battle tank and the F-15SG fighter jet. The country has also invested in cyber defense capabilities and has established a Cyber Security Agency to protect against cyber threats.

Highly Trained Military Force

Singapore's military strength is also due to its highly trained and motivated military force. The country has a mandatory conscription policy, which requires all male citizens and permanent residents to serve in the military for two years. This policy has helped to create a large pool of trained personnel, and it has also instilled a strong sense of national pride and loyalty among Singaporeans.

The SAF places a strong emphasis on training and professionalism, and it has developed a reputation for being one of the best-trained military forces in the world. The country also has a strong reserve force, which can be mobilized quickly in the event of a crisis.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Singapore's strategic military strength is based on its ability to leverage its strategic location, invest in advanced technology, and maintain a highly trained and motivated military force. The country's military has become one of the most advanced and well-equipped in the region, and it plays a critical role in maintaining regional stability and security.

Singapore's commitment to defense and its strong partnerships and alliances with other countries in the region have helped to create a stable and secure environment in Southeast Asia. As the region continues to grow and evolve, Singapore's military strength will remain a critical factor in maintaining regional stability and security.

Intel Israel Business Is Going Good

For those who are anti-Semitics, do you own any Intel based computer? So now do you still wanted to boycott Israel?

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Intel's Israeli subsidiary more than doubled its exports in 2012 to $4.6 billion and is seeking to bring manufacturing of the company's next generation of chips to Israel.

Intel's exports, which rose 109 percent from $2.2 billion in 2011, were boosted by the start of production of chips using 22 nanometer technology at its Kiryat Gat plant in southern Israel, which is now operating at full capacity.

Intel, the world's No. 1 chipmaker, will build chips over the next two to three years with features measuring just 14 nm in Ireland and the United States but the company is already thinking about where it will produce 10 nm chips. The narrower the features, the more transistors can fit on a single chip, improving performance. Intel Israel executives said they would like to see 10 nm production in Israel.

"The average life of a technology is two to six years so we need to be busy to get the next technology, 10 nanometer," Maxine Fassberg, general manager of Intel Israel, told a news conference on Sunday. "We need to get a decision far enough in advance to be able to upgrade the plant. So for 10 nanometer, decisions will need to be made this year."

Fassberg said upgrading the existing Fab 28 plant in Israel would require a lower investment than building a new plant but would still involve several billion dollars.

Intel Israel has in the past received government grants to help with the costs of its investments and Fassberg told Reuters the company was "constantly in talks with the government".

Intel has invested $10.5 billion in Israel in the past decade, including $1.1 billion in 2012, and has received $1.3 billion in government grants. The company accounted for 20 percent of Israel's high-tech exports last year and 10 percent of its industrial exports, excluding diamonds.

"If Intel had not increased its exports, Israel's high-tech exports would have shrunk by 10 percent," Intel Israel President Mooly Eden said.

Most of Intel Israel's exports - $3.5 billion - came from its chip manufacturing activities.

Intel is Israel's largest private employer, with 8,542 workers, up 10 percent from 2011. The company has two plants - in Jerusalem and Kiryat Gat - as well as four research and development centers.

Eden said Intel was also committed to investing in start-ups, having invested in 64 Israeli companies since 1996. In July its global investment arm Intel Capital said it would expand its operations in Israel.

Syrian peace talk is on the way.

AMMAN (Reuters) - Syria's opposition coalition is ready to negotiate President Bashar al-Assad's exit with any member of his government who has not participated in his military crackdown on the uprising, coalition members said on Friday.

Syrian authorities have given no formal response to several offers of talks in recent weeks. But officials say they cannot accept pre-conditions about Assad's departure and have privately dismissed what they say are no more than media initiatives.

The political chasm between the sides, along with a lack of opposition influence over rebel fighters on the ground and an international diplomatic deadlock preventing effective intervention, has allowed fighting to rage on with almost 70,000 people killed in 22 months of conflict, by a U.N. estimate.

Opposition leader Moaz Alkhatib made an offer of negotiations last month without consulting the coalition's 70-member assembly, prompting criticism from a powerful bloc within the movement dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem is due to visit Moscow, one of Assad's main foreign allies, later this month. Russia also hopes Alkhatib will visit soon in search of a breakthrough to end the bloodiest of the Arab Spring uprisings.

But coalition members say no date has been set for an Alkhatib trip to Moscow and Syria's Foreign Ministry played down suggestions that Moualem and he could meet there, saying any dialogue must take place in Syria.

An overnight meeting of the coalition's 12-member politburo in Cairo endorsed Alkhatib's initiative, although it set guidelines for any peace talks which will be presented for approval by the full assembly next Thursday.

"These guidelines stipulate that Bashar al-Assad and all the security and military leaders that (have) participated in the killing of the Syrian people and whose hands are stained with blood have no place in the Syria of the future," coalition member Abdulbaset Sieda told Reuters in Cairo after the meeting.

"We agreed to reassure the Syrian brothers from the (ruling) Baath Party whose hands are not stained with the blood of the Syrian people that they are partners in the coming political process."

Another opposition member said next week's gathering of the full coalition would try to revive plans for a provisional government, undermined so far by divisions among Assad's foes.

Walid Bunni, one of a handful of liberals in the Islamist-heavy assembly, told Reuters that Assad and his military and intelligence officials could not be part of any negotiations.

"Bashar and his cohorts will not be party to any talks. We will not regard those present from the government's side as his representatives," Bunni said.

He said the meeting addressed how to deal with Iran and Russia, Assad's main supporters, after Alkhatib met the foreign ministers of Russia and Iran in Munich earlier this month.

NO SIGN OF DIALOGUE

Syria's Foreign Ministry complained to the United Nations on Friday over what it said was pressure by Turkey, which backs the rebels, on Syria's opposition to reject any negotiated solution. The ministry said Turkey was "training and arming terrorist groups including al Qaeda" to fight Assad's forces.

Turkey has repeatedly denied arming or training the Syrian insurgents.

Alkhatib has said he is willing to hold talks with Assad's representatives in rebel-held areas of Syria or outside the country to try to end the conflict. Syria's minister for national reconciliation, Ali Haidar, initially gave a positive response, saying he was willing to travel abroad to meet him.

But in an interview on state television this week Haidar reiterated the government's position that any serious dialogue must be on Syrian territory and said the opposition had not formally presented any proposals.

"There is no initiative at the table of the Syrian government," he said. "The government is not a media office to answer ideas through the media."

Haidar has also said the authorities reject any dialogue that aims "to hand power from one side to another".

Alkhatib has headed the Syrian National Coalition since it was founded last December in Qatar with Western and Gulf backing. He has quietly built up a student following and links with civic and religious figures across Syria, although he has no control over armed insurgents seeking Assad's overthrow.

Rebels captured the town of Shaddadeh in the eastern, oil-producing province of Hasakah on Thursday after three days of battles in which activists said 30 members of the al Qaeda-linked, anti-Assad, Nusra Front and 100 soldiers were killed.

The United Nations food agency WFP said on Friday that an estimated 40,000 people had fled Shaddadeh for the provincial capital Hasakah, 45 km (30 miles) to the north.