How real and effective are Singapore's F35s in the defence of the Island?

 The concept of parking a country's main defensive force, the F35s, 10,000km away across the Pacific Ocean, is a novel idea for little Singapore. Lack of airspace is a primary concern, fear of being destroyed on the ground is another. Parking the F35s in the safety of distance, and as a second strike to ward off potential enemy is a preventive strategy, provided the second strike can come in time and not meaningless.

The Americans have been using this strategy for decades, parking many of their offensive weapons in military bases all over the world but with different assumptions. Their intent and mission are different. They want to park their weapons as near as possible to their enemy to gain a first strike advantage. They have moved more bombers and troops to the island of Guam, to be near China instead of further away, even knowing that Guam is within range of Chinese missiles. They are also enlarging their strike capability in the Philippines.

The potential enemies of Singapore now have equally advanced weapons and aircraft to attack Singapore. Hypothetically, if an enemy strikes first, all the air bases of Singapore would no longer be serviceable to receive the F35s. And if such a day happened, would the F35s be back in time to be of any help? 10km across the Pacific Ocean needs how many air to air refueling processes? How many days would it need to fly back, assuming they do island hopping to return? By then the war is over and flying to Singapore would mean they have nowhere to land, let alone dropping bombs onto Singapore now occupied by the enemy. Dropping bombs on enemy homeland without the fuel to return, and no place to return and land is suicidal.

In view of the changing circumstances, this concept of parking in Mars needs a rethink. Singapore's best defensive strategy is to be friends and on good terms with its neighbours. And if really there is a need to park the F35s out of the island, Thailand or even China would be a better bet. At least it is a more realistic and practical option than parking in Mars.

What do you think? Is this a meaningful and workable military strategy? Or parking in America is actually a condition set by the Americans for selling F35s to Singapore and not a conscious choice of Singapore?

Caveat, we are laymen and are not able to think like military thinkers and strategists. Also we are not super talents with super thinking and planning ability.

Trump is dismantling the USA piece by piece and sector by sector

As they say, you can't change cooked rice gruel into its original rice grain state. Or put split milk on the ground into the cup that held it before. What is done cannot be undone, even if the harm is getting extremely painful
The USA has to learn to remember that what is does has ramifications. The mindset that the USA has 'exceptionalism' on its side is wearing thin and it is more likely that the USA is using 'deceptionalism' to hide its weakness.

Chinese students are not going to pour into USA universities just because Trump is chickening out again. Trump has ignited a White supremacist fanatism since his first term, that is not going away anytime soon. And Chinese parents better not be taken in by the about turn. The racial abuse against Chinese in the USA is not going away but will get worse. If Trump wakes up from the wrong side of bed again, or when White supremacist movements put pressure on him Trump will yet change course. Nothing is going to be certain. The man-child tailors his policies on whims and fancies, nothing on logic.

Trump should not base his policies on his whims and fancies forever, as the harm could be permanent. Just look at the state of USA farmers now having no avenues to turn back the clock. All farmers are suffering because of Trump's trade war with China. Trump is trying to turn back the clock by begging China to buy back its soya beans. It is not going to happen and USA farmers, the backbone of Trump's support, now has to bear the consequences. Who they should blame is obvious, but what is the use when Trump has to leave office after just a little more than three years for them to vent their frustrations. Unless Trump declares emergency rule, which he is planning to do with troop movements into cities for his grand plan to stay in power forever. But will that change the fate of farmers? It will change nothing for them.

Piece by piece and sector by sector Trump is dismantling the USA right before our eyes. The tariff war is strengthening the bargaining power of BRICS and also the SCO that the earlier trade war has set in motion. The USA is getting more isolated by the day and isolation is eating into the USA's hegemonic rule.


Anonymous

Who is behind Indonesia's unrest? Prabowo better clamp down on the NGOs fast

I am beginning to suspect someone has a hand in the protest now going on in Indonesia. Firstly, Indonesia has officially joined BRICS, and the courting of Indonesia by the USA has failed. Indonesia has rich mineral resources which the USA is eyeing. What the USA cannot achieve, it will destroy. Secondly, Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto was earlier going to join in the Victory Day parade in Beijing but had to cancel his trip due to the unrest in Indonesia, erupting at the right time indeed.

This is what I had expected earlier regarding the targeting of Indonesia for not toeing the line. China was the first country that President Prabowo Subianto visited upon taking office, not the USA. It speaks volumes of the importance of China's relation with Indonesia. Someone definitely does not like it one bit.

India, the world's biggest democracy is now joining the SCO party in Tianjin, and one video of the trio - Putin, Modi and Xi joking and laughing together is making Trump hopping mad, so mad that he hid behind closed doors for days to sulk, LOL.

Who pushed Putin to join hands with Xi and now also pushing Modi to do likewise? It is even more jarring that the world's biggest democracy is now joining hands with two other communist state, demonized to no end by the West. Ideological differences coming together against a common enemy does work, doesn't it? Sebastian Sas, on his site is asking who is isolated now?

India must be careful looking at the protest in Indonesia. Western NGOs and the CIA are always working the ground to ferment unrest when countries do not toe the line and when the opportunity arises. India will not collapse even cutting off its trade with the USA. Modi is now building bridges with other SCO states, and these are its future, not the USA. Asking India not to buy Russian oil is cutting off India's lifeline and the earlier India distance itself from the USA the better.

But the sabotage against India is going to be a certainty. USA businesses under pressure by Trump may move out, but as in the case of China, it will not end with the collapse of India. India is still a cheap destination for doing business, which if handled properly and judiciously going forward, has all the potential to grow and lure investors in. China has no plausible reason or intent to cripple India's progress as Xi has indicated, and it is left for both countries to chart their own course for progress, if China now can trust India not being used by the USA against China.

What happens next may be the USA now using Pakistan to create problems for India. This is not far-fetched as many onlookers have commented. Russia and China need to carry out some peace mission to ensure nothing serious happens. But, of course, it is difficult to prevent a false flag by the CIA to upset the apple cart.


Anonymous

J. D. Vance using eyeliners made in China by 'peasants'

USA's rich consumers can now use plenty of cheap soya beans to make tofu, the staple of poor 'peasants' in China, better than letting them rot in silos. Having said that, the USA probably need tofu expertise to teach them how to do that and create dishes using tofu. So much for making fun of Chinese chefs teaching them how to cook.

But J. D. Vance will look down on poor 'peasant' food, telling USA consumers not to eat 'peasant food' or lower their status as the richest country in the world, LOL. Those soya beans are meant to be sold to 'peasants' in China as food, not eaten by rich USA consumers. But J. D. Vance himself is reported to be using eyeliners supposedly made in China by 'peasants'. He should not be humiliating himself by buying things made by peasants using money borrowed from those 'peasants'.


Anonymous

America's wildest silly lie about Maduro

 President Maduro is the head of drug cartel in Venezuela. This is the most vicious lie the lying Americans can come up with, accusing the President of a country as a drug lord. And to make it more real to the American terrorists and their brain dead allies and the Anglophiles to believe in, they placed a US$50m booty on the head of Maduro. 

Now the American terrorists are sending a fleet or warships to attack and invade Venezuela in the guise of attacking the drug cartel. Drug smugglers are the problem of the police and coast guards, not the military and marines. The latter are for war. The American terrorists are going to start a war against Venezuela on fabricated drug problems.

The UN is as usual, just shut up, afraid to offend the American terrorists. Principled nation states also keep quiet, pretending not to know. When the American terrorists fabricated such silly excuse to invade a country, they can fabricate more silly excuses to invade any country. This is a very serious violation of international law and national sovereignty.

The American terrorists are the most dangerous state terrorists and the biggest threat to peace and stability in the world. Only the very foolish leaders and brain dead Anglophiles are not complaining, calling this peace initiative, to keep peace. The biggest drug cartel is run by the American CIA. They are using all the drug money to finance war, destabilise nation states, conduct assassination of national leaders, train and fund terrorist organisations, agitate for civil disorder etc etc.

The rest of the world are watching with their eyes wide open at this aggressive adventurism of the American terrorists and are turning to BRICS and SCO to establish a new world order to replace this American hegemony and a world of endless wars and threats of war.

Bring down the evil American terrorist regime in Washington for peace and security of the world.