India -Singapore News and Discussion

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India -Singapore News and Discussion

Post by SSridhar »

India has an important relationship with Singapore, historically, civilizationally, politically, economically, diplomatically and increasingly militarily. The relationship has been growing steadily ever since the Look East policy of Shri PV Narasimha Rao in the early 90s. Singapore has acted as a springboard to that policy, especially into ASEAN. There is synergy and convergence on many issues between the two nations, especially in Indo-China Sea (also referred to as South China Sea by China). Singapore is increasingly partaking the economic growth of India through investments and even building the capital, Amaravati, for the redefined state of Andhra Pradesh. The two militaries have been engaging each other in expansive military exercises every year and the Singapore armed forces even train in India. Singapore supports India for a permanent UNSC seat. The relationship has been elevated from a de-facto to a de-jure strategic level today during PM Modi's visit.

So far, we have been covering Singapore under the rubric of ASEAN. It is high time we have a separate thread for the India -Singapore Relationship
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Re: India -Singapore Relationship

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Wary of China, India and Singapore in pact to upgrade defence cooperation - Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury, Economic Times
Eyeing to expand strategic footprints in the ASEAN region amid desire by Southeast Asian countries for a bigger role by Delhi to balance China's growing ambitions India and Singapore on Tuesday elevated their ties to the 'strategic partnership' level and signed bilateral agreements to upgrade defence cooperation including Ministerial level dialogue and in areas like cyber security, shipping and civil aviation during Narendra Modi's visit to the city state for a bilateral trip.

India and Singapore singed ten pacts including a joint declaration by the two Prime Ministers on a strategic partnership that was released after Modi's meeting with his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong. The PM reached Singapore on Monday evening and launched his engagements with Singapore Lecture that highlighted his government's vision for the region.

This joint declaration that elevated ties to the level to strategic partnership was the big ticket item. India and Singapore were strategic partners for all practical purposes but this was formalization of that partnership.

"India and Singapore elevate their bilateral relations to a strategic partnership to deepen and broaden engagement in existing areas of cooperation and catalyse new ones ranging from political, defence and security cooperation to economic, cultural and people-to-people contact. The strategic partnership is also a framework to contribute to greater regional stability and growth," the joint declaration said.

The inking of the agreement to upgrade defence partnership and elevate defence dialogue to the Ministerial level added more teeth to the strategic partnership. The two PMs also endorsed the continuation of joint military exercises and training between their Armies, Air Forces and Navies. The two sides decided to further collaborate in defence technology, and explore co-development and co-production by the defence industries of the two countries.

The two countries joined by seas also decided to expand cooperation in maritime security as they signed the Technical Agreement on the Sharing of White-Shipping Information between the two Navies and also signed documents for its operationalisation. There will also be greater bilateral Coast Guard Cooperation. The cooperation in the area of maritime security will contribute towards stability of the seas in the region China's territorial claims have created tensions. Shipping lanes in Southeast Asia are key to India's trade with the Pacific and therefore it is imperative to safeguard sea lanes of communication from state and non-state actors (like terrorists and pirates).

Eyeing to expand counter-terror cooperation the two sides also revived the Joint Working Group on Intelligence Cooperation on Combating Terrorism and Transnational Organised Crime in order to intensify cooperation on information and intelligence sharing on terror networks and work together to share experiences on dealing with the growing phenomenon of radicalisation.

The two sides also signed an MoU between Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) and Singapore Computer Emergency Response Team (SingCERT), Singapore's Cyber Security Agency on security cooperation.

The MoU promotes closer cooperation and exchange of information pertaining to cyber security between the Computer Emergency Response Teams of the two countries by establishment of a broader framework for future dialogue; exchange of information on cyber attacks; research collaboration in smart technologies; cyber security policies and best practices as well as professional exchanges. Other MoUs were signed in the areas of arts and culture, civil aviation, town planning, and planning bodies. The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) of India and the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) of Singapore also signed and MoU on cooperation to combat illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substance and their precursors.

Later speaking at India Singapore Economic Convention the PM promised more reforms to make India more attractive for foreign investments and assured investors that he would "carefully hold" their hands and expressed hope that the GST regime would be rolled out in 2016.

Addressing Indian diaspora at Singapore Modi said that his foreign policy does not believe in cowering to or staring at other nations', but looking into their eyes with confidence.

Among this other engagements in Singapore Modi also paid homage at Indian National Army (INA) Memorial Marker and remembered Subhash Chandra Bose. Signalling the focus on technical education, Modi also visited Institute of Technical Education (ITE), which is located in the parliamentary constituency of the Singapore Prime Minister.
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Re: India -Singapore Relationship

Post by A_Gupta »

^^^ "India and Singapore elevate their bilateral relations to a strategic partnership..."

Perhaps every country with which India has a strategic partnership should have a thread of its own?
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Re: India -Singapore Relationship

Post by SSridhar »

A_Gupta, I would agree. But, there are already separate threads for the rest. Anything is missing still?

We do have one even for a non-strategic country, Pakistan. :twisted:
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

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Ahmedabad, Jaipur airports to be managed by Changi

http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/busine ... 23421.html
Singapore's Changi Airport Group will soon start managing Ahmedabad and Jaipur airports, opening up airport management operations for a foreign player for the first time in the country.
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

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http://bharatpress.com/2015/12/09/singa ... -in-india/
Singapore-based mostly massive knowledge startup Crayon Data is setting up India operations in alliance with WPP-owned media funding administration agency GroupM and its subsidiary Mindshare.

Ratan Tata had just lately invested an undisclosed quantity in Crayon Data.

“Together, GroupM, Mindshare and Crayon Data purpose to map the style of hundreds of thousands of Indian shoppers, which can permit enterprises to focus on shoppers extra exactly,” the corporate stated in a press release.
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

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http://www.india.com/news/india/six-sin ... 16-774556/
"Six Singapore satellites to be launched by ISRO on December 16" (PSLV)
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Re: India -Singapore Relationship

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SSridhar wrote:A_Gupta, I would agree. But, there are already separate threads for the rest. Anything is missing still?

We do have one even for a non-strategic country, Pakistan. :twisted:
:D

Quoting from Wiki:
Countries considered India's closest include the Russian Federation, Israel, Afghanistan, France, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and the United States. Russia is the largest supplier of military equipment to India, followed by Israel and France.According to some analysts, Israel is set to overtake Russia as India's largest military and strategic partner. The two countries also collaborate extensively in the sphere of counter-terrorism and space technology.India also enjoys strong military relations with several other countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States,Japan,Singapore, Brazil, South Africa and Italy. In addition, India operates an airbase in Tajikistan and signed a landmark defence accord with Qatar in 2008.
Seems to me we might need Qatar, Tajikistan, Italy, France, South Africa. Not sure that a thread each is absolutely necessary.
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

Post by member_19686 »

Lee Kuan Yew and Richard Nixon exchange views on China's future, April 10, 1973
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOM1947ek2k

click cc
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

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http://www.theindianpanorama.news/globa ... 55794.html
"Modi Declines Singapore Offer to Name Orchid variety After Him"
The Singapore government wanted to name a variety of orchid, the island city-state’s national flower, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his November visit but the Indian leader declined.

In the past, Singapore has accorded this honor to the duke and duchess of Cambridge, Britain’s Prince William and his wife Kate, the king and queen of Belgium, Phillipe and Mathilde, former U.S. first lady Laura Bush, former South African president Nelson Mandela, former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and most recently, Chinese President Xi Jinping. Modi did, however, launch a commemorative Singapore-India stamp set comprising two stamps that depict the presidential residences of both countries.

Singapore is one of the few countries Modi visited as Gujarat chief minister between 2002 and 2014, when he was shunned by the West for allegedly turning a blind eye to the 2002 Gujarat riots.

Modi’s predecessor Manmohan Singh declined the honour during a visit to Singapore in July 2011, according to an Indian official, who recalled that former prime minister Indira Gandhi had an orchid named after her. India’s former first lady Usha Narayanan who visited Singapore along with her husband, then president K.R. Narayanan, in the year 2000 also has an orchid in her name, according to the Singapore Botanical Garden website.
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

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http://www.ibtimes.co.in/india-singapor ... tor-662214
"India and Singapore ratify MoU in Civil Aviation sector"
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday ratified the NDA government's move to hand over management of the Ahmedabad and Jaipur airports to Singapore's Changi Airport.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in November 2015 between the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Singapore Cooperation Enterprise during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Singapore.

The arrangement includes planning and design, traffic development, cargo handling, repair and overhaul facility, said a statement issued by the Central government on Wednesday.

The arrangement would be further extended to other airports in India in due course of time, the statement added.

These could be the Chennai and Kolkata airports.
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

Post by Chinmayanand »

Why are we handling airport maintenance to foreign companies ? This has security concerns and what it says is we can not handle our airports.WTH !!!
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

Post by Paul »

Getting professional companies vetted by agencies to manage civil airports should be acceptable. Shared airports like Bagdogra, etc. are out of bounds. New airports like Bengaluru, Hyd, Bhopal etc. are better in their hands with AAI union employees.

Dubai based companies handling baggage and logistics are discouraged from spreading their business in India. This was in news 2014.
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http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/sin ... 28856.html
"Muslim community in Singapore raises S$98,216 for South India flood victims
The donations, which were handed to humanitarian group Mercy Relief, were collected at all 69 mosques in Singapore as well as at the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore. "
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/worl ... 655284.cms
Singapore says it deported 26 Bangladeshis for terror links
SINGAPORE: Singapore said on Wednesday that it had arrested 27 Bangladeshi construction workers late last year for supporting "the armed jihad ideology of terrorist groups" and deported 26 of them.

The workers were being groomed to return to their home country to wage holy war and had studied booklets on assassination techniques, the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement.
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

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Singapore, India 'can work together to tackle challenges'
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/ec ... challenges
There are compelling opportunities for collaboration between India and Singapore in tackling challenges, particularly in the areas of trade, infrastructure and financial services.

That was the consensus arrived at by a discussion panel at the start of the two-day IIMpact thought leadership conclave yesterday.

The discussion, moderated by The Straits Times associate editor Ravi Velloor, focused on re-imagining the future relationship between India and Singapore.
...
The IIMpact conference, organised by the Global IIM (Indian Institutes of Management) Alumni ends today and has attracted some 1,200 delegates from around the world.
Last edited by A_Gupta on 09 Apr 2016 06:33, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

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http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/ ... tion-india
Singapore 'wants more co-operation with India'
Singapore has confidence in India's growth and wants to increase collaboration with the South Asian country in areas such as skills development and urban infrastructure, Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam told a symposium in Mumbai.

"Macroeconomic stability" has returned to India, Mr Tharman noted, adding that the two countries can learn from each other through deeper collaboration.

"It frankly gives me confidence in India, not just based on what has been happening in the last few years of GDP growth above 7 per cent, but confidence that this is now a new journey that we in Singapore want to be part of, contribute to and want to benefit from at the same time," he said, listing financial connectivity, air connectivity, education and skills and smart cities as areas of further collaboration.
About 250 mostly business leaders and policymakers were at the event organised by the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) of the National University of Singapore. Its local partner was the Confederation of Indian Industry.
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

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Singapore 'wants more cooperation with India' - Straits Times
Mumbai: Singapore has confidence in India's growth and wants to increase collaboration with the South Asian country in areas such as skills development and urban infrastructure, Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam told a symposium in Mumbai.

"Macroeconomic stability" has returned to India, Mr Tharman noted, adding that the two countries can learn from each other through deeper collaboration.

"It frankly gives me confidence in India, not just based on what has been happening in the last few years of GDP growth above 7 per cent, but confidence that this is now a new journey that we in Singapore want to be part of, contribute to and want to benefit from at the same time," he said, listing financial connectivity, air connectivity, education and skills and smart cities as areas of further collaboration.

He also noted that the focus in countries should be on "fundamentals of the real economy which have to do with skills, technology, and connectivity".

Mr Tharman, who is also Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies, was speaking at the Singapore Symposium on Partnering for Growth in Uncertain Times yesterday.

About 250 mostly business leaders and policymakers were at the event organised by the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) of the National University of Singapore. Its local partner was the Confederation of Indian Industry.

Singapore and India have close political and economic ties which grew after they inked a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement in 2005. Singapore is among the top foreign investors in India, contributing US$5.98 billion (S$8 billion) in foreign direct investment in 2014.

Recent collaborations include developing two townships and setting up a skills centre in the northern desert state of Rajasthan and helping southern Andhra Pradesh state to build its new capital city.


Mr Tharman, who had an interactive session with India's central bank governor Raghuram Rajan, called for greater coordination against exchange rate volatility.

"We can't keep hoping that the US Fed will postpone normalisation of interest rates," he said.

"Emerging markets especially will be on the receiving end of the volatility in exchange rates and capital flows," he noted.

"So what we need, for a period, is some form of coordination with regard to the major exchange rates."

Mr Tharman's remarks came before Group of 20 officials meet in Washington next week to discuss the state of the global economy.

Competitive currency devaluation has been a key area of discussion and an area particularly worrying for emerging economies.

Mr Rajan, who noted that the Reserve Bank of India had intervened to reduce volatility in the rupee, said India's aim "was to make the exchange rate less and less an issue that investors have to worry about".

He said he appreciated some of the steps taken by Singapore, highlighting in particular the government's move to set aside money for the education of Singaporeans.

The Singapore Symposium has been a forum for discussions on bilateral and world issues. The first two editions were held in New Delhi in 2009 and 2012 and helmed by former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, respectively.

In the wake of the leak of the so-called Panama Papers, which showed that about 500 Indians had offshore assets, the issue has been in focus in India.

Fielding a question on whether Singapore is emerging as a tax haven for Indians, Mr Tharman noted that the Republic is an open country.

"Singapore is totally open to scrutiny. We are not some shady offshore centre. Everyone should be open to scrutiny, and that includes the state-level jurisdiction within the US. We don't protect any holy cows in Singapore," he said.
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

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India looks to bolster defence ties with SE Asia, Modi to host Singapore PM - Sachin Parashar, ToI
India is looking to boost its Act East Policy even as southeast Asia struggles to cope with festering maritime disputes in the region. While defence minister Manohar Parrikar will look to expound on how India views the regional security situation at the Shangri La Dialogue later this week, PM Narendra Modi is also hoping to host his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loong in September this year.

Top government sources here said India was in touch with Singapore to finalise dates for PM Lee's visit. The 2 countries had signed a strategic partnership agreement last year when Modi visited Singapore.

The Modi government is looking to encourage more investment from Singapore for development of urban centres in India. While Singapore remains government's most important partner for sustainable smart city development and other urban solutions, India is also looking to enhance its defence engagement with Singapore. As part of their revised defence cooperation agreement, the 2 countries are now looking to jointly develop and produce defence technologies.

While Singapore is not party to the maritime disputes in South China Sea, it shares concerns with India over the deteriorating security situation in the region. Both countries insist on freedom of navigation, safety of sea lanes and resolution of disputes in accordance with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Parrikar too will have a bilateral meeting with his Singapore counterpart Ng Eng Hen later this week. He is also scheduled to travel from Singapore to Vietnam, which is directly impacted by China's outlandish cow's tongue (nine-dash line) claims in South China Sea waters.

The highlight of Parrikar's tour though will be his presence at the Shangri La Dialogue
or the 15th Asia Security Summit. As TOI had first reported on May 7, breaking away from the practice in recent past, India on this occasion decided to send its defence minister to what is perhaps the most powerful forum for discussions on security issues in the Asia-Pacific.{A.K.Antony attended that in c. 2012}

US Secretary of Defence Ash Carter used the forum last year to announce a Southeast Asia Maritime Security initiative for the region. He also declared that the US was looking for new ways to complement India's Act East policy and to find meaningful areas of cooperation in the Asia Pacific. Carter will again be leading the US delegation this year in Singapore.

Parrikar is expected to strongly address the regional security situation and in particular India's concerns over the conflict in South China Sea at a time concerns are mounting over an impending international tribunal ruling on the Philippines' suit challenging China's maritime claims. Beijing has already announced it will ignore the ruling.

Under Modi, India has repeatedly brought up the South China Sea issue in joint documents, mentioning the significance of freedom of navigation and overflight and also the need to resolve maritime disputes through international law. At a RIC (Russia-India-China) foreign ministers' meeting though, India agreed to a joint statement saying maritime disputes be addressed through negotiations and agreements between the parties concerned. Indian officials though have dismissed it saying it should be seen from a multilateral (RIC) perspective and that India will continue to work with its strategic partners like US and other nations for security and stability in Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean.
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

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India, Singapore hold defence dialogue - The Hindu
Taking forward the Prime Minister’s commitment in Singapore for furthering defence cooperation during his visit to Singapore last year, India and Singapore held the inaugural Singapore-India Defence Ministers’ Dialogue (DMD) on Friday. It was co-chaired by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his Singapore counterpart Dr. Ng Eng Hen.

“Mr. Parrikar and Dr. Ng commended the long-standing defence ties between Singapore and India, and noted the DMD would take the relationship to new heights,” officials said. Mr. Parrikar is in Singapore to attend the Shangri-La dialogue beginning on June 4.

Last month, the two countries convened the first meeting of their Defence Industry Working Group in which both sides agreed to set up industry level working mechanisms to foster cooperation in aerospace, electronics and other areas of mutual interest.

“Both ministers noted that new opportunities for industrial collaboration, including through Joint Ventures, have opened up due to India’s Make in India initiative,” one official said. Both countries significantly scaled up their military to military engagement with bilateral visits and joint exercises.

India and Singapore signed a Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) in 2003 which was revised in 2015. Defence cooperation had been identified as a key sector under the India-Singapore Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership signed during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Singapore in November 2015.
The two countries have a long-standing defence agreement dating back to the days of Mrs. Indira Gandhi and Mr. Lee Kuan Yew. Operational interaction between the Indian and Singaporean navies began with anti-submarine warfare training exercises in 1994. In addition, the Secretary-level India-Singapore Defence Policy Dialogue ia an annual and regular feature. In October 2007, India and Singapore signed an agreement by which India allowed the Republic of Singapore Army to lease Indian facilities on a long term basis to locate their personnel and assets and indulge in training. In August 2008, a similar agreement allowed facilities for the Republic of Singapore Airforce. The Airforce agreement was extended in c. 2012 until c. 2017 while the Army agreement was extended in June 2013 for another five years during defence minister A.K.Antony’s visit to Singapore. In c. 2008, India and Singapore started the Delhi Dialogue as a Track-II activity focusing on ASEAN-India strategic partnership.
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

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Singapore too slams cross-border terror - ToI
Singapore expressed solidarity with India over the Uri attack on Tuesday with its Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong condemning terrorism in all its forms. He said this after a meeting with Indian PM Narendra Modi here.

Addressing a joint press conference, the heads of the two nations urged all those who believed in peace and humanity to come together to defeat the menace of cross-border terrorism, and said that the two countries had decided to boost their anti-terror cooperation.

During his address, Lee condemned terrorism and offered condolences to the families of the 19 soldiers who were killed in the Uri attack.

Modi, in his speech, said the rising tide of terrorism, especially cross-border terrorism, and the rise of radicalisation were grave challenges to people's security. "They threaten the very fabric of our societies,'' Modi said, adding that India and Singapore had agreed to enhance their cooperation to counter these threats, including in the domain of cyber security.

The meeting's focus on terrorism is being seen as another attempt by the government to get Pakistan on the ropes diplomatically after the Uri attack. India's campaign against Pakistan recently saw four countries in the neighbourhood pulling out of the Saarc summit in Islamabad, leading to postponement of the event.

The two countries also sent out a message to China, which had recently rejected an international tribunal ruling dismissing its nine-dash line claim over South China Sea waters.

"As two maritime nations, keeping the sea lanes of communication open, and respect for international legal order of seas and oceans is a shared priority,'' Modi said, adding that defence and security cooperation was a key pillar of India's strategic partnership with Singapore.


The two nations also inked three agreements, including one dealing with intellectual property rights to facilitate greater business-to-business exchanges and collaborations.

Describing trade and investment as bedrock of bilateral relationship, Modi said India has embarked on a path of strong economic growth and transformation and in this journey, it regards Singapore as a key partner.

The two leaders agreed to expedite the second review of Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement and welcomed the issuance of corporate rupee bonds in Singapore. "It is a step forward in our efforts to mobilise capital for India's large infrastructure development needs,'' the Indian PM said.

"I have been informed that Singapore is leading the world in putting driverless cars on the road. But I rest assured, we all rest assured, that one of India's strongest well-wishers, Prime Minister Lee, is in the driving seat for Singapore and for our bilateral relationship. Excellency Lee, you are a friend of India," Modi said.
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

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Singapore investors’ capital gains to attract tax in India - The Hindu
India secured amendments to the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with Singapore on Friday, effectively closing one route of laundering domestic black money by “round-tripping” it from countries like Mauritius, Cyprus and Singapore.

The Centre had been trying to renegotiate the DTAA with Mauritius since 1996 and finally got a deal this May, and since the Singapore tax treaty was based on the same terms as Mauritius, efforts were afoot to re-negotiate the pact with Singapore. A similar treaty with Cyprus was amended in November.

“There was a reasonable apprehension that these agreements were being misused for round-tripping domestic black money, organising its flight outside the country and bringing it back into the country through these three routes. Since there has been a significant effort by the government to eliminate the possibility of black money and its usage in India, revisiting these pacts was extremely important,” Mr. Jaitley said.

Black money

Along with the war on black money currently being fought by the government, the finance minister termed the revised DTAA with Singapore a happy coincidence. “By amending these pacts, we have been able to give a reasonable burial to this black money route that existed,” he said.

On the same lines as the amended pact with Mauritius, the tax exemptions for investors under the existing agreement will be discontinued from April 1, 2017. “Investments made before March 31, 2017, will be grandfathered, and after that, for two years, the capital gains will be shared half and half between the country of residence of investor and India. Post-2019, the entire capital gains becomes exclusive to India,” the minister said.

A significant apprehension about these pacts was the complete exemption of taxes on capital gains that investors could utilise in the name of double tax avoidance as these three countries had no capital gains taxes. “So the beneficiary would not pay any capital gains tax in India on the ground that the Singapore taxation rules would be applicable to them and there was no capital gains in those jurisdictions.”


“This would set to rest the anxiety of the investors investing into India from Singapore,” said Girish Vanvari, national head of tax for KPMG in India. “Effective April 1, 2017, capital gains arising from investments made after April 1, 2017 will be taxed in India at half the domestic rate as in case of the amended Mauritius treaty and be fully taxable after April 1, 2019.”
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

Post by Neshant »

Considering they are majority Chinese, can anyone explain why Singapore wants a strategic alliance with India.
I can understand why they may not seek an alliance with China - as US would do a Libya/Iraq on them.

I can see that once India regards them as a strategic ally, nobody is likely to invade them with military force.
But beyond that, what are they expecting from India.

India does not have the power to keep sea lanes of the South China sea open for them if China decides to close it.
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

Post by Singha »

^^^ they have a lot of savings parked in their sovereign investment funds but lack the domestic market. having close political, military and tourism ties eases the way for their cos to invest in india. though the elite in singapore are "straits chinese" there is also a good section of PIOs in business and trading. this is same reason why GCC sovereign funds invest in india whether directly or in concert with others. eg. the booming office space market in india tech parks has lot of foreign investors...assetz group of singapore et al.

also a big destination for indian tourists ... a section of indian cos also HQ there for some tax benefits - like flipkart ...

its never about crude military protection like say TSP sucking up to the Dragon.
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

Post by SaraLax »

Neshant wrote:Considering they are majority Chinese, can anyone explain why Singapore wants a strategic alliance with India.
I can understand why they may not seek an alliance with China - as US would do a Libya/Iraq on them.

I can see that once India regards them as a strategic ally, nobody is likely to invade them with military force.
But beyond that, what are they expecting from India.

India does not have the power to keep sea lanes of the South China sea open for them if China decides to close it.
Many of these south-east asian nations look towards India from the Buddhism religious aspect because these nations have been practising some form of Buddhism or the other since many centuries and India is in a way ... the fountainhead of Buddhism for these countries. Even Lee Kuan Yew indicated that he was no longer following Christianity and that he was more of a Buddhist/Taoist follower even when his son & some brothers are all Christians. Singapore is also well aware that it exists between two Muslim Majority nations and hence wants to be more assured about its own security and India comes into this picture well in terms of defence ties. Singapore also has an active relationship with Taiwan which China often complains about. Singapore also uses some army bases in US for its training and testing of its own army equipments ... because Singapore is mostly a small island state & doesnt have much land to do some of its missile tests.

India is looked at as a relatively amiable nation (due to its huge internal diversity) that doesnt raise stupid heckles or attempts to bully like how China does (yes even towards a very micro-sized type of nation like Singapore) and thus India is one of the more dependable nation in Asia. Nowadays - India is looked at as a more stronger nation (with its own set of rockets, satellites, missiles, nuclear weapons, nuclear submarine, aircraft technologies, Healthy IT & Pharma sector & etc) than what it was in previous decades and has an economy of great potential where these countries can export in to. All of these aspects seem to be making some of these nations gravitate more closer to India.
Bart S
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

Post by Bart S »

From what I have seen, in comparison to HK (or even Taiwan in some cases) Chinese, Singapore Chinese folks are culturally Chinese but have less political sympathy for the CCP or much respect for the PRC as a political entity and it's worldview. They admire the west and Japan more than they do the PRC. With the economic rise of the PRC a lot of people in HK and Taiwan are getting sucked back into the PRC orbit and world-view. My colleague in HK for example while bitching and whining about mainlanders coming in and squeezing their resources and lifestyle, says that if he loses his job he would probably move to the mainland and get a job there as there are more opportunities for him there. So they know which side their bread is buttered. I don't think that Singaporean Chinese have that same level of links and ties to the mainland.

They are also much more familiar with Indians having lived with them for centuries, and in contrast with the situation in Malaysia for example (where Indians are not particularly well off) deal with mostly professionals, businesspeople and wealthier tourists from India.
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

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I agree with both SaraLax & Bart S. I will just add a few more points.

The Singaporean Chinese are Western in their outlook and do not have anything in common with mainland China politically or geostrategically. Unlike with China, with whom we had very little interaction because of geographical barriers, the situation with Singapore is very different. Modern Singapore was part of Malaya and Malaya has always had significant population of Indian-origin people. Besides, Tamils had settled in Singapore a few centuries back and had played a significant part in its construction and even Independence. Later, other Indians have also settled there and contributed to its growth. S.R. Nathan was a President for a long time. Before him was Nair. Others of Indian origin have occupied and continue to occupy significant positions. Rajaratnam was a famous Foreign Minister of Singapore, after whom the reputed Nanyang Technological University has set up the much acclaimed Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Currently, Shanmugam Jayakumar is the NSA, while another Mr. Shanmugam is the Foreign Minister. The Dy. PM, is a Tamil of Sri Lankan descent. Dr. Balaji Sadasivan, a neurosurgeon, is also in the council of ministers. Temasek Holding's Chief is Mr. S.Dhanabalan, a person very close to the late Lee Kuan Yew. Bilahari Kausikan has been a top civil servant in Foreign Affairs. In commerce, art, literature etc., people of Indian origin have played a significant role. Many doctors, professors, business analysts etc are people of Indian origin. India and Singapore enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship. It was the strong backer for our entry into ASEAN after we rejected it the first time when it was being founded.

Militarily too, close cooperation exists between the two of us. It was the British Indian Army that was located in Singapore defending it until Japan occupied it. The two countries have a long-standing defence agreement dating back to the days of Mrs. Indira Gandhi and Mr. Lee Kuan Yew. In the new millennia these have reached greater heights. In fact, when Singapore left the Malayan Federation in c. 1963, it asked India to provide support for its armed forces which India refused at that time.

The two armies conduct the annual ‘Kurukshetra’ series of exercises where the armour, artillery and combat groups of both nations take part. The Air Force exercise, ‘Sindex’ and the Naval exercises ‘SIMBEX’ (Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise held since c. 1994) have since then become regular affairs. Apart from these regular exercises, the defence establishments of the two countries are involved in regular interaction through visits, courses, professional exchanges and defence technology cooperation. In addition, the Secretary-level India-Singapore Defence Policy Dialogue is an annual and regular feature. In October 2007, India and Singapore signed an agreement by which India allowed the Republic of Singapore Army to lease Indian facilities on a long term basis to locate their personnel and assets and indulge in training. In August 2008, a similar agreement allowed facilities for the Republic of Singapore Airforce. The Airforce agreement was extended in c. 2012 until c. 2017 while the Army agreement was extended in June 2013 for another five years during defence minister A.K.Antony’s visit to Singapore. In c. 2008, India and Singapore started the Delhi Dialogue as a Track-II activity focusing on ASEAN-India strategic partnership. Over the years, it has grown significantly and other member nations attend this once-a-year event held in New Delhi. Defence cooperation had been identified as a key sector under the India-Singapore Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership signed during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Singapore in November 2015. Following this, in May 2016, the two countries convened the first meeting of their Defence Industry Working Group in which both sides agreed to set up industry level working mechanisms to foster cooperation in aerospace, electronics and other areas of mutual interest. India and Singapore held the inaugural Singapore-India Defence Ministers’ Dialogue (DMD) in the first week of June, 2016 during Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar’s visit.
Neshant
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

Post by Neshant »

Lets see what comes of it.

Hopefully it won't just be a rich man's playground where Indian millionaires & billionaires migrate there and India gets nothing out of the relationship.
Neshant
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

Post by Neshant »

Singapore, India continue air force joint training agreement
Singapore has renewed the Bilateral Agreement for the Conduct of Joint Military Training and Exercises with the Indian Air Force (IAF), announced the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) on January 19, source from VNS.

The ministry said the agreement paves the way for the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) to continue its joint military training at Kalaikunda Air Force Station in India for another five years. Under the agreement, the RSAF will have opportunities to train with the IAF's advanced Su-30 fighter jet.

The renewal was signed by Singapore's Permanent Secretary of Defence Chan Yeng Kit and India's Defence Secretary G Mohan Kumar.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by Singapore's Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen and India's High Commissioner to Singapore Jawed Ashraf.

Kumar paid a two-day visit to Singapore from January 18 to co-chair the Singapore-India Defence Policy Dialogue with Chan Yeng Kit.

According to the MINDEF, during the dialogue, both sides emphasised the strong and growing ties between the RSAF and the IAF.

Both countries are committed to strengthening bilateral defence interactions and welcomed deeper defence cooperation for mutual benefit, it added.

The Bilateral Agreement for the Conduct of Joint Military Training and Exercises in India was inked in 2007 and first renewed in 2012.
http://www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn/Intern ... /1/122785/
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

Post by SSridhar »

Think tank snub clouds India-Singapore ties - Suhasini Haidar, The Hindu

The Hindu's headline is a bit dramatic because the ties are too deep-rooted to be 'clouded' by this incident.But, India did the right thing by walking out of Shangri-La Dialogue. India must also take up the issue with Singapore more formally and also reciprocate in kind when a suitable occasion arises. Probably, Singapore is miffed by the fact that Indian representation at Shangri-La is not at a high level and has been somewhat wayward in recent years. But, then, China has been sending only its General in the last few years too. The Pakistani Army's influence and position within that country as the prime mover has become a 'fait accompli' now. Earlier, only the American officials used to visit the GHQ to hold descussions on Pakistan's foreign & domestic policies etc. but now practically every nation (including some Heads of States) also do that. No wonder such a thinking is creeping up in Singapore also.
A snub from Singapore’s annual Shangri-La dialogue led to India’s decision to withdraw its delegation led by Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre last week, officials have confirmed to The Hindu .

According to senior officials privy to the decision, organisers of the prestigious conference informed the government that the Indian Minister did not rank as highly as Pakistan’s Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Zubair Mahmood Hayat, as “civil military relations in Pakistan are different from those in India.”

Panel presence


Organisers at the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS), which runs the conference for the Government of Singapore, told the Ministry of External Affairs that, as a result, Mr. Bhamre, who was filling in for Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, would only be accommodated at a “plenary session” on the last day of the three-day event (June 2-4), and not on one of the main panels as General Hayat was.

“Obviously, we were not going to accept this kind of differentiation between India and Pakistan,” an official told The Hindu.


Accordingly, the Indian High Commission in Singapore then informed the Singapore MFA that “under the circumstances,” the delegation from New Delhi was pulling out as the speaking slot confirmed was “not in line with their expectations.”

When asked, the IISS “regretted” the Indian decision, and said the MEA had informed them very late, only a week before the start of the conference that they wanted a “speaking role” for Mr. Bhamre. Organisers said they earlier expected Mr. Jaitley to attend the event, since former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had addressed the Dialogue in June 2016.

“Unfortunately, the new Defence Minister — Arun Jaitley, who already held the Finance portfolio — was unable to accept our invitation. We understand that this was because of his deep involvement in preparations for the imposition of GST,” Timothy Huxley, executive director of IISS, said in reply to questions from The Hindu.

Consequently India, which has attended 12 of the 16 Dialogues since 2002, had no speaker at the event this year, although Indian High Commissioner to Singapore Jawed Ashraf did attend all sessions of the conference.
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

Post by Schmidt »

There has been an ongoing spat between Singapore and China ever since Hong Kong detained 9 armored carriers of Singapore Armed Forces that were returning from a training exercise with Taiwan

Since then , China has pointedly refused inviting Singapore PM Lee to the OBOR summit
https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-inter ... oad-summit

Also , , it sent a low ranked delegation to the Shangri La Dialogue this year , and as a consequence Singapore did not allow them a speaking slot as well ( same as the treatment for India this time )
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomac ... -singapore

http://statestimesreview.com/2017/06/04 ... en-he-lei/

The India - Singapore difference is a minor hiccup , nobody really cares about these summits anyway
JE Menon
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

Post by JE Menon »

Small time money making rackets. Sometimes useful.
chola
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

Post by chola »

Eh, at the end of the day, Singapore is ethnically chini-dominated.
Karthik S
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

Post by Karthik S »

We can ask for docking rights in Singapore.
Gagan
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

Post by Gagan »

Singapore will always do an == between India and China,that is a given.
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

Post by ArjunPandit »

Gagan wrote:Singapore will always do an == between India and China,that is a given.
Do they have fighter jets parked in China?
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

Post by Gagan »

Kalaikunda nonwithstanding, they will tread a fine line, trying not to anger the chinese or India, trying not to pick sides
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

Post by Gagan »

Their Artillery regiments come here for field firings too
ArjunPandit
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

Post by ArjunPandit »

Gagan wrote:Kalaikunda nonwithstanding, they will tread a fine line, trying not to anger the chinese or India, trying not to pick sides
Not that there is anything wrong with it. Caught between lazy indian govt (at least for last 10 years) and chinese leeches, they are truly caught between devil and deep sea. They are firmly in US camp, have more visible relations with Taiwan than India. Under such circumstances, such mistreatment is not unexpected. What this again highlights is that how lightly we can be taken that even we dont get rights as much as porki. This is something that one doesnt get by having 40K aircraft carriers and but by showing spine. More importantly that pakis have nothing of such sort
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Re: India -Singapore News and Discussion

Post by SSridhar »

Defence Minister Ng flies in India's Tejas combat aircraft, says bilateral ties 'very strong' - Nirmala Ganapathy, Straits Times
KALAIKUNDA - Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said on Tuesday (Nov 28) that defence ties between India and Singapore were "very strong and growing stronger" during a visit to the Kalaikunda Air Force station where he was flown in an Indian supersonic fighter jet.

Dr Ng, who is on a visit to India for the second India-Singapore defence ministers' dialogue, visited the station in West Bengal state on Tuesday (Nov 28) to view the joint military training between Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) and the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Kitted in flying gear, Dr Ng, who interacted with RSAF and IAF personnel, is the first minister or civilian from outside India to fly in the Tejas, the indigenously developed light combat aircraft, which was flown in from Bengaluru for him.

He took a 45-minute flight during which he was shown the features of the plane, which has pride of place in the IAF.


Tejas is the first light combat aircraft developed in India, with its development taking three decades.

"Tejas is a very, very capable plane but I am not a pilot," said Dr Ng in remarks to the press where he congratulated the pilot for flying so well "that honestly it was like riding in a car".

"And I can imagine why my pilots find so much value in training with IAF pilots, (they are) superbly confident, supremely professional and really at the top of the game".

Indian defence sources said they had wanted to showcase the Tejas and give Dr Ng "a feel of the plane".


During the visit, the defence minister also viewed the RSAF F-16 and the IAF Sukhoi Su-30 fighter aircraft used in the exercises. He thanked the Indian government for providing "realistic and challenging training opportunities for the RSAF to hone its operational readiness".

There are around 100 RSAF personnel currently at the Kalaikunda base for the joint military training and six F 16 fighter jets.

"We have been having bilateral air exercises since 2004 and... I hope that these bilateral exercises will last a very long," he said.

Responding to a question on the trajectory of defence ties, Dr Ng noted: " I think it is very strong and growing stronger."


India and Singapore have close economic and security ties that grew after Singapore helped India become a full dialogue partner of Asean in the 1990s.

Defence ties have strengthened with regular military exchanges and joint military training, which is between the two air forces and also the army.

Singapore's defence ministry in a press statement on the ongoing training said the "bilateral training has grown in scale and complexity over the years to involve advanced aircraft and high-end training missions".'

RSAF Detachment Commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Tan Wuen Bin said the exercises helped the RSAF.

"The training allows us to hone our flying skills as well as operational readiness of all our air crew. We value the training opportunity here and we are looking forward to all the joint military training exercises over the years," he said.

Said India's Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Air Command, Air Marshal Anil Khosla: "It is important for the RSAF and IAF to continue to build interoperability and foster mutual understanding through the high end training missions at the Joint Military Training.''

Dr Ng will meet his Indian counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman for talks on Wednesday (Nov 29).
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