The US State Department has backed a potential sale of AGM-114R Hellfire missiles to Singapore, valued at US$22.3 million, in a deal it said would strengthen the city state’s defences, a key US strategic partner in Asia.
The department on Tuesday said the sale would include 67 Hellfire missiles – a type of precision-guided, air-to-ground missile – as well as spare parts and support equipment. Lockheed Martin will be the principal contractor.
“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a strategic partner that is an important force for political stability and economic progress in Asia,” it added.
“The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.”
The SCMP has contacted the Singapore embassy in Washington for comment.
The proposed sale is the latest in a string of US arms sales to Singapore this year, coming at a time when the US seeks to deepen defence ties across the Indo-Pacific region amid what Washington describes as China’s accelerating military build-up.
US officials have urged regional partners to increase defence spending, citing concerns over Beijing’s growing assertiveness.
In January, the US approved a US$2.3 billion sale of P-8A maritime patrol aircraft, torpedoes and related equipment to Singapore.
And in April, it approved a separate US$83.14 million sale of a guided multiple launch rocket system alternative warhead and related equipment.
In similar wording, the State Department said of the April sale that it would improve Singapore’s defensive capability and “increase regional stability”.
Singapore, a long-standing US security partner, also maintains deep economic ties with China, its largest trading partner.
The city state has long said it would not be forced to take sides in the rivalry between Washington and Beijing, casting its past defence procurements as routine modernisation rather than as alignment with any major power. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
