Singapore Army to increase training in Australia.

Thanks to Russel_2878 for the link!

The size of the SWBTA allowed our Army to conduct a motorised battalion live-firing exercise during Exercise Wallaby 2012, featuring the Terrex Infantry Carrier Vehicles (ICV) from 5th Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment (5 SIR).

The Terrex ICV provides infantry forces with enhanced protection, mobility and firepower, and also networks soldiers and air and land weapon platforms, thus facilitating the delivery of information, and fires in the battlefield.

I follow military forces from around the world.  Being a one man operation I can't get most of them but the Singapore Army is on my radar.  Yesterday they posted the above pic along with several others that highlighted training in Australia.  Since the pics were from a couple of years ago I thought nothing of it...maybe it was just a slow news day.

I should've known better.  Today we get this...via ABC.net.AU

Thousands of Singaporean troops are heading to Queensland as part of a $2.25 billion expansion of the South-East Asian city state's military bases in Queensland.
The Federal Government today announced a 25-year deal that will see Singapore increase the number of troops it has on rotation in Australia from 6,000 to 14,000.
With a land mass of just over 700 square kilometres, Singapore does not have the space it needs for military exercises and uses bases in Australia for training and weapons testing.
"There'll be opportunities obviously in the local community to be big beneficiaries, not only from people staying there and sometimes they'll bring family with them, but also from the money that's going to be spent to improve the bases themselves," Mr Ciobo told the ABC.
The facilities Singapore will fund the expansion of are at Shoalwater Bay north of Rockhampton, and in Townsville.

I wonder if China should be worried?