Australia is set to host thousands of troops from Singapore, in a deal that will have widespread implications for both countries across the Asia Pacific and allow the tiny city-state to show what it is capable of.

Everyone knows when the fighter jets are doing exercises from Singapore’s military air base.

For those in the immediate neighbourhood it’s a roar overhead, the planes already out of sight.

Australia is set to host thousands of troops from the tiny South-East Asian state, part of a that seeks to bring the two countries closer together.

At just under 720 square kilometres, Singapore is taking no chances when it comes to defence.

… “Singapore’s policymakers have always seen a strong and well-equipped armed forces as the only insurance policy that it has,” S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies associate professor Bernard Loo said.