China, Singapore set to hold first joint military drills

China and Singapore are set to hold their first joint military exercise since 2021 as Beijing deepens its defence and security ties with Southeast Asia.

Chinese defence ministry said in a statement on its website on Monday that its navy will deploy a missile-bearing frigate, the Yulin, and a mine-hunting ship, the Chibi, to the joint maritime exercise which will last from late April to early May, without specifying the location.

Following the upgrade of a bilateral defense deal in 2019 to enable larger-scale exercises among their army, navy, and air force, China and Singapore performed a combined military practice in international waters at the southern edge of the South China Sea two years ago.

The deeper China-Singapore military cooperation comes as a time of heightened tensions in the South China Sea, an area spanning 3.5 million square km (1.4 million square miles) that is often traversed by Western navies including U.S. vessels conducting freedom of navigation operations.

The U.S. military conducted an expanded Super Garuda Shield exercise in August last year with Indonesia that saw the participation of Singapore, Japan and Australia for the first time.

The drills last summer also took place against the backdrop of elevated tensions in the Taiwan Strait following the visit of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the democratically governed Taiwan, which China claims as its own.

China’s increased military engagement in Southeast Asia is widely expected to challenge the influence that the United States has shaped with countries including Singapore and Indonesia in coming years.