3 ms·

Why are you singling Singapore? It's not a particularly close ally. It's like Switzerland, neutral.

by netdevphoenix 2y ago

kcb 2y ago
They're trusted enough to purchase F-35s.
- michaelt 2y ago
  Well, there's a bunch of different dimensions of trust. Britain will work hand-in-hand with the US with regards to fighter jets, nuclear weapons and spy agency cooperation. But America doesn't trust Britain's blood sausage and haggis, or its traditional unpasteurised cheeses. And Britain doesn't trust America's chlorinated chicken, GMOs or guns.
alephnerd 2y ago
Singapore is VERY close to the US. One of the US's largest naval bases is in Singapore, they are one of the very few countries allowed by the US to buy F35s (F35s are interconnected, so being given entry into the F35 program means being given entry to the entire intranet used to manage it), and plenty of US Naval officers cross-train and study with Singaporean naval officers at NUS.
- lazide 2y ago
  They’re basically Asian Israel.
  - alephnerd 2y ago
    At a macro level they look similar, but when you dig closer it starts to fall to the wayside. A major driver for Singapore's initial growth was the fact that it is the de facto Oil Refinery hub in ASEAN - much of the oil that is extracted in Malaysia or Indonesia has had to be routed to Singapore at some point. It has the benefit of having a strong financial service sector thanks to a business law system that strives to maintain parity with that in the UK and the US, but it's a very narrow industry that most Singaporeans don't partake in. Also, Singapore has always had strong economic relations with it's neighbors Malaysia and Indonesia (even at it's worst points). Most of the business leadership in both countries are ethnic Chinese with blood relations in Singapore, which made it easier for Singapore to leverage it's position. A major downside I've noticed in SG when I've travelled there a bunch is the lack of a truly strong innovation ecosystem. Sure there are plenty of startups, but most of them are just Chinese or Indian startups that are leveraging a Singapore CoLo to simplify investment. Much of the actual R&D and even leadership capacity remains in China or India. SG is a very hierarchical country and that really limits their innovation capacity. Back in my undergrad, I knew 5 A*STAR candidates and a couple other bonded service candidates - of them maybe 50% returned to Singapore, and those that did were from households who owned a house (iykyk). The rest got offers with tech companies here in the US and broke bond. Even in the SAF, races segregate into their own units (eg. Ethnic Malays are de facto banned from airforce and high clearance positions).
  - netdevphoenix 2y ago
    That seems to assume that Israel is not in Asia
    - lazide 2y ago
      for some strange reason when I say Saudi Arabia is the biggest Asian oil country, everyone gets confused too. it’s a different enough area geologically and politically, there is a reason everyone calls the region the middle east.
      - netdevphoenix 2y ago
        No one should be confused about your statement. Middle East is a region in Asia. The hint is in the word "East" which references Asia. Do you imagine people calling the Earth flat because "everyone says it is"?
        lazide 2y ago
        The Middle East is in Western Asia. [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_East https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_East] The East in the Middle East (and frankly also the ‘Middle’) has nothing to do with it being in Asia. If it did, Japan would likely be the Middle East. Or maybe Thailand, depending. Instead, Japanese and Chinese are typically referred to as ‘East Asians’. Usually, if someone is going to say anything at all about West or Central Asians, they tend to be referring to the ‘stans and/or Mongolia. Since Russia’s a bit… special. And takes up most of the rest. The more you know.
        netdevphoenix 2y ago
        Your first statement proves my point that Israel is in Asia. Unless you believe that Western Asia is not in Asia or that people in Western Asia are not Asians. China and Japan are referred to as the Far East. As I said, the keyword is "East" which references Asia. The "Middle" refers to it being between Europe and the Far East. Hence the Middle East. I thought this was common knowledge. I don't think there is any need for sarcasm. It's common knowledge that there are 6-7 continents (depending on how you want to count the Americas).

Why are you singling Singapore? It's not a particularly close ally. It's like Switzerland, neutral.

kcb 2y ago

They're trusted enough to purchase F-35s.

michaelt 2y ago
Well, there's a bunch of different dimensions of trust. Britain will work hand-in-hand with the US with regards to fighter jets, nuclear weapons and spy agency cooperation. But America doesn't trust Britain's blood sausage and haggis, or its traditional unpasteurised cheeses. And Britain doesn't trust America's chlorinated chicken, GMOs or guns.

alephnerd 2y ago

Singapore is VERY close to the US. One of the US's largest naval bases is in Singapore, they are one of the very few countries allowed by the US to buy F35s (F35s are interconnected, so being given entry into the F35 program means being given entry to the entire intranet used to manage it), and plenty of US Naval officers cross-train and study with Singaporean naval officers at NUS.

lazide 2y ago
They’re basically Asian Israel.
- alephnerd 2y ago
  At a macro level they look similar, but when you dig closer it starts to fall to the wayside. A major driver for Singapore's initial growth was the fact that it is the de facto Oil Refinery hub in ASEAN - much of the oil that is extracted in Malaysia or Indonesia has had to be routed to Singapore at some point. It has the benefit of having a strong financial service sector thanks to a business law system that strives to maintain parity with that in the UK and the US, but it's a very narrow industry that most Singaporeans don't partake in. Also, Singapore has always had strong economic relations with it's neighbors Malaysia and Indonesia (even at it's worst points). Most of the business leadership in both countries are ethnic Chinese with blood relations in Singapore, which made it easier for Singapore to leverage it's position. A major downside I've noticed in SG when I've travelled there a bunch is the lack of a truly strong innovation ecosystem. Sure there are plenty of startups, but most of them are just Chinese or Indian startups that are leveraging a Singapore CoLo to simplify investment. Much of the actual R&D and even leadership capacity remains in China or India. SG is a very hierarchical country and that really limits their innovation capacity. Back in my undergrad, I knew 5 A*STAR candidates and a couple other bonded service candidates - of them maybe 50% returned to Singapore, and those that did were from households who owned a house (iykyk). The rest got offers with tech companies here in the US and broke bond. Even in the SAF, races segregate into their own units (eg. Ethnic Malays are de facto banned from airforce and high clearance positions).
- netdevphoenix 2y ago
  That seems to assume that Israel is not in Asia
  - lazide 2y ago
    for some strange reason when I say Saudi Arabia is the biggest Asian oil country, everyone gets confused too. it’s a different enough area geologically and politically, there is a reason everyone calls the region the middle east.
    - netdevphoenix 2y ago
      No one should be confused about your statement. Middle East is a region in Asia. The hint is in the word "East" which references Asia. Do you imagine people calling the Earth flat because "everyone says it is"?
      - lazide 2y ago
        The Middle East is in Western Asia. [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_East https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_East] The East in the Middle East (and frankly also the ‘Middle’) has nothing to do with it being in Asia. If it did, Japan would likely be the Middle East. Or maybe Thailand, depending. Instead, Japanese and Chinese are typically referred to as ‘East Asians’. Usually, if someone is going to say anything at all about West or Central Asians, they tend to be referring to the ‘stans and/or Mongolia. Since Russia’s a bit… special. And takes up most of the rest. The more you know.
        netdevphoenix 2y ago
        Your first statement proves my point that Israel is in Asia. Unless you believe that Western Asia is not in Asia or that people in Western Asia are not Asians. China and Japan are referred to as the Far East. As I said, the keyword is "East" which references Asia. The "Middle" refers to it being between Europe and the Far East. Hence the Middle East. I thought this was common knowledge. I don't think there is any need for sarcasm. It's common knowledge that there are 6-7 continents (depending on how you want to count the Americas).