How tiny Singapore ties China and Taiwan in training for war

HONG KONG – Military rivals China and Taiwan are both seen as benefiting from military training activities conducted with Singapore, which, in turn, also gains from the cooperation. China’s People’s Liberation Army and Taiwan’s armed forces are getting tips from Singapore’s relatively advanced armed forces but, more so, long-standing political ties with a mutually trusted third country – which is especially critical for Taiwan – experts say. “Both Taiwan and China work with Singapore because if you want influence, you need to engage,” said Yun Sun, East Asia Program senior associate at the Stimson Center think tank in Washington.

Taiwan has provided Singapore at least three tracts of its much larger territory for training, including exercises, since 1975. The annual Project Starlight exerc