The Singapore Air Force recently issued an announcement disclosing the deployment of the US Air Force F-35A Lightning II fighter jets in Singapore, the US Air Force dispatched eight F-35A fighters to deploy at Baya Lebar Air Base in the east of Singapore, and the Singapore Air Force F-16C D fighters, and F-15SG fighters held a joint exercise in the airspace of the South China Sea, during which the Singapore Air Force's A330MRTT multi-role air tanker also provided air refueling services for the F-35A. The U.S. Air Force's F-35A fighter jets have the word AK on their tails, apparently from Elson Air Force Base in Alaska, which has 78 F-35A fighters and is the largest squadron of F-35A fighters in the U.S. Air Force.
Before the U.S. Air Force F-35A fighter jets were stationed at the Singapore Air Base, the U.S. Air Force had sent two F-35A fighter jets to the Singapore Airshow 2024, followed by eight F-35A fighter jets arriving at the Singapore Air Force Baya Lebar base. In fact, the U.S. Air Force's F-35A fighter jets took off from Kadena Base in the Ryukyus, and the U.S. Air Force has a long-term deployment mission of F-35A from Alaska at Kadena Base in December 2023, so with the assistance of air tankers, F-35A fighter jets can easily fly from Ryukyu to Paya Liba Air Base in Singapore.
According to the information obtained by the Beacon Front Station, the U.S. Air Force has not used F-35A fighters to deploy in Singapore before, and only Australia will dispatch F-35A fighters for short-term deployment in Singapore in 2023. The U.S. Air Force, through its military base in Singapore, can deter the South China Sea and put pressure on the PLA on China's doorstep. The U.S. Air Force's F-35A fighter jets would not have been able to target the South China Sea if they had only used military bases in Japan and the Ryukyus, and now they are relying on Singapore to target China.
At a time when the U.S. Air Force was trying to prevent China from changing the status quo through the demonstration of F-35A fighter jets in the South China Sea, Singapore had stopped pretending to be a tiger, because Singapore provided a military base for the deployment of F-35A fighter jets of the U.S. Air Force. The Singapore Air Force has also used fighter jets to conduct joint operations with U.S. Air Force F-35A fighter jets, especially the F-35A through the A330MRTT multi-role air tanker, which is simulating future long-range assault missions. The U.S. Air Force's F-35A fighter jets are capable of taking off from bases in northern Australia and can be refueled by the Singapore Air Force's A330MTT multi-role air tanker before entering the South China Sea.
Singapore has long been the "best man" role of the United States in Southeast Asia, and for this reason, it will closely follow the United States. At the critical moment, Singapore has openly sided with the United States, Singapore is holding the Strait of Malacca, for which it is the target of the United States' active courting, and when the United States is actively encircling and containing China, Singapore is clearly supporting the United States' "Indo-Pacific strategy", thus forming a sharp contrast with Malaysia. A few days ago, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim publicly stated that Malaysia will not closely follow Western countries and China in confrontation, and Malaysia will maintain close cooperation with China.