Strategic Importance of Submarines to Singapore's Ability to Protect Territorial Waters and Contribute to Regional Security

21 Mr Desmond Choo asked the Minister for Defence what is the strategic importance of submarines, especially the Invincible-class, to Singapore's ability to protect our territorial waters and contribute to regional security.

The Senior Minister of State for Defence (Mr Heng Chee How) (for the Minister for Defence): Mr Speaker, Sir, as a maritime nation, Singapore is highly reliant on the free and unimpeded movement of goods and materials across our Sea Lines of Communication. Within our Navy, which is tasked with the crucial mission of keeping these lines open, submarines are a strategic asset. With their stealth, submarines complement our surface fleet in countering surface and sub-surface threats and serve as a deterrence to potential aggressors.

Our second-hand Challenger-class and Archer-class submarines, which are more than 60 years and 40 years old respectively, will be retired soon. They will be replaced by four Invincible-class submarines that are the Republic of Singapore Navy's (RSN) first new-built submarines designed for our needs and operational requirements.

Equipped with an advanced rudder drive system, the new submarines can better conduct manoeuvres in our shallow and busy tropical waters. They are designed to stay submerged for 50% longer than the Archer-class submarines and are equipped with better sensors and combat systems. Human factors have also been factored into the design and engineering to make work onboard safer and more effective, and living conditions improved and more sustainable.

Overall, the new submarines will significantly enhance the Navy's capabilities to protect Singapore's interests at sea.

Mr Speaker: Mr Desmond Choo.

Mr Desmond Choo (Tampines): I thank the Senior Minister of State for his reply. I have two supplementary questions. First, with the shrinking population that we have, how have the automation features within the new class of submarines be able to cater for the diminishing number of servicemen that we will have?

Second, how are we enhancing the interoperability of our Navy, especially the submarines, with regional navies to enhance regional security?

Mr Heng Chee How: Mr Speaker, I thank the Member for his two supplementary questions. The first one is really on labour productivity; in other words, how you could man a naval asset with fewer people and yet maintain or enhance its fighting power. I would say that this applies not only to submarines or, indeed, not only to naval assets, but to all our military assets.

As the Member would know, over the years, the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) have worked tirelessly to continuously improve on the use of technology and different processes in the design of our equipment and in the improvements in the midlife upgrades of our equipment so that we can actually achieve more fighting power with less manpower being used to drive it.

So, this is something that you can see progressively across all classes of our assets, whether they be land, air or sea. This would also apply to our naval assets and, indeed, also in the design of our submarines. So, I just wanted to give the Member and all Members of this House this assurance that MINDEF and SAF are acutely aware of the manpower constraint, and this is one of the top priorities as we make best use of this manpower and, at the same time, design, buy and equip our forces with equipment and assets that will serve our operational purpose.

The second question is with regard to how the SAF – not only the Navy but across our different forces – will be able to interoperate with regional navies in order to better protect our interests. Here, I would like to point to the many exercises that the SAF – across land, sea and air – has been conducting with our neighbours and, indeed, friendly forces further afield all these years. And the very purpose of having these exercises is, indeed, to better understand one another's operating procedures and also to learn from one another. The overall objective is to build friendly relations, better understanding and, at the same time, to be able to hone our ability to be effective in our operations.