Forty members of the Special Operations Command (SOCOM) of Philippine Army (PA) are now in Singapore for a professional exchange training program with Singapore Army. The program started December 4 and will end on the 15th.
The training program will focus on urban warfare training which gives visiting Filipino soldiers access to Murai Urban Training Facility of Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).
The said facility was created to hone the urban operations capability of SAF soldiers.
MUTF was built to resemble a typical town, and has features such as single-level houses; a commercial district comprising multi-function, multi-storey buildings; a residential district; as well as an industrial district. To provide added realism, the training facility also has bus-stops, traffic lights and over-head bridges.
Singapore Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said they offered to host 40 Filipino soldiers and use the MUTF because “if extremists gain a foothold in any country around us, they will launch attacks against all ASEAN cities.”
“These groups can be defeated, but we will be stronger and that much more effective if we do it together,” he said.
“This professional exchange is mutually beneficial to SAF soldiers who would also be able to learn from their counter-terrorism fight in Marawi,” he added.