Posted on 04/04/2010 11:08:42 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
Singapore is reported to be acquiring Israel's new Iron Dome anti-missile air-defense system under a once-secret military cooperation pact with the Jewish state that dates to the 1960s. Indeed, according to the Paris Intelligence Online Web site, Singapore helped finance the development of the system by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.
It says that Iron Dome was always intended for the island, a key Asian shipping hub and one of the richest per capita states in the world, because of its strategic location as a trading center.
The Israeli air force, which runs the Jewish state's air defense network, completed test-firings of the system in January and the first battery is currently becoming operational.
Israeli media reports say the missiles, designed to shoot down hostile missiles with ranges of up to 25 miles, are being deployed along Israel's northern border with Lebanon.
There are growing fears of a new Middle Eastern war and Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shiite movement in Lebanon, has an arsenal of up to 45,000 rockets and missiles, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has claimed.
Israel's defense links with largely Chinese Singapore go back to 1965, shortly after the island city-state, a former British colony off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, split from the Federation of Malaysia.
(Excerpt) Read more at spacedaily.com ...
Singapore military units have used training facilities in the United States, Australia, Republic of China (Taiwan), New Zealand, France, Thailand, Brunei, India and South Africa. There are also the Five Power Defence Arrangements between the Singapore, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia. It’s a Pacific Rim defense thing for preventing any one nation or group from taking exclusive control of a strategically important shipping route.
I think that its great that they are getting “Iron Dome”
Sometimes I feel I personally would benefit immensely from an Iron Dome of my own, seeing how the entire world is veering off into the absurd, lately.
Odd that of all places, Singapore wants it. Could it be that it fears anti-capitalist assault from the Norkies?
Could be. Maybe preparing for an possible attack from Burma in some point in the future. Burma has been arming itself with help from the North Korean with rockets and nuclear technology.
Myanmar, and an ever-increasingly-fundamentalist Indonesia are the fears, I’m sure...
Agreed, under the circumstances. With economic balances changing soon, I can’t help but wonder if the Rim will get hot.
Although I said that in jest, there is good reason for concern about the future. All your points support that concern.
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