5 Powers Plan More Military Drills, Tech Exchange

Malaysian fighter jets taking part in a joint Five Powers Defence Arrangement operation in October 2023. (Courtesy of the Malaysian Ministry of Defence)

The members of one of the Indo-Pacific’s oldest defence pacts, the Five Power Defence Arrangement (FPDA), have agreed to stage more complex military exercises in response to escalating tensions in the region.

The 53-year-old agreement is between Australia, Britain, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Singapore. It is headquartered at the Royal Malaysian Air Force base in Penang.

There have always been four drills each year, allowing defence personnel from the five nations to practice working together in a “multi-threat environment,” with training designed to enhance interoperability and strengthen professional relationships.

The most recent drills were Exercise Bersama Lima in October 2023, and Exercise Bersama Shield from April to May 2024.

However, while they mostly involved fighter aircraft and frigates, in the future, additional capabilities will be added to the mix, such as drones, fifth-generation fighter planes, and surveillance aircraft.

“We are increasing the assets that we are bringing to bear in exercises so [at] Bersama Lima later this year, for the first time, Australia will be contributing F-35 Joint Strike Fighters,” said Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles, who added that running more complicated exercises was an example of increasing ambition in the agenda of the FPDA.

However, he noted that the pact was “not about China,” but rather about the desire of Australia and its partners to work closely together.

Singapore’s Minister for Defence, Ng Eng Hen, said, “The FPDA is now 53 years old, and it is the ‘grandfather of multilateralism’. Many things have changed since the FPDA was formed in 1971, but it remains relevant today. We will make it even more relevant for the future.”

(L to R) The Defence Ministers from New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, and the Director General (Security Policy) from the UK attended a breakfast at the 12th Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) Defence Ministers’ Meeting [FDMM] in Singapore. (Courtesy Singapore Ministry of Defence)

New Zealand’s Defence Minister Judith Collins said a P8A Poseidon aircraft would be deployed to Singapore for the first time as part of the drills.

The new plane has just finished its first mission: monitoring the evasion of UN sanctions by North Korea. It is the premier U.S. submarine hunter-tracker and is increasingly deployed in the region against China’s submarine patrols.

Singapore, where many of the Five Powers’ exercises are held, is close to important submarine channels in Indonesia linking the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean.

Pacific States ‘Not Playthings’: Judith Collins

The FPDA meeting was held on the sidelines of the International Institute for Strategic Studies Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

Addressing that conference, Ms. Collins highlighted the importance of Pacific security issues to New Zealand, and noted that the region has become increasingly important as a theatre for strategic competition.

She added that countries from outside the Pacific that do not value its best interests or values were acting in ways that undermined regional security.

“Pacific Island nations are not playthings for larger nations, and need to be treated with respect,” she said.

Malaysian Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin confirmed that drones, among other “non-conventional” elements, would be used in this year’s exercises.

British representative Paul Wyatt, director general for security policy, said Britain planned sending an aircraft carrier to the region in 2025 and had discussed how the tour might fit with the FPDA’s exercise programme.