Counterterrorism, non-conventional threats on agenda as regional defence bloc expands cooperation

SINGAPORE: The Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) will be expanding cooperation into non-conventional areas, such as counterterrorism, maritime security, humanitarian and disaster relief, as well as cyber and drone warfare.

The FPDA — formed in 1971 against the backdrop of armed conflict across Southeast Asia — comprises Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Singapore's Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, who hosted the 12th FPDA Defence Ministers' Meeting at the Conrad Singapore Orchard on Friday (May 31), said the session was “very successful”.

Speaking during a joint press conference after the meeting, Dr Ng said the leaders agreed that to keep the group relevant moving forward, it will work to boost its conventional war-fighting capabilities by including more high-end equipment.

“On the non-conventional, we did discuss and deliberate on the need for us to build capabilities in areas such as counterterrorism, maritime security, humanitarian as well as disaster relief. These will be the new areas that we will look into apart from the traditional threats,” said Malaysian Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin.

Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles added that the group will also be looking at areas such as cyber and drone warfare.

He said that Australia will bring its F-35 Joint Strike Fighters to the next Exercise Bersama Lima – the joint military exercise between the FPDA’s member states – later this year.

«That will be the first time we'll have a fifth-generation aircraft participating in Bersama Lima,» he added.

New Zealand Defence Minister Judith Collins added that her country will also deploy its P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft for the first time in