Speech by Mr Teo Chee Hean, Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security at the Launch of Inimitable in Kiel, Germany on 22 April 2024

Federal Minister of Defence, Mr Boris Pistorius, thank you very much for honouring us with your presence today.

Distinguished guests, in particular our two Navy chiefs, thank you very much also for honouring us with your presence today.

Local leaders and officials, thank you very much for welcoming us to your city and taking such good care of our people while they are based here.

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning to all of you.

Introduction

Today we witness the launch of Inimitable, the Republic of Singapore Navy's fourth Type 218SG submarine. The first three – Invincible, Impeccable, and Illustrious – were launched in 2019 and 2022.

Maritime Security Benefits all Countries

Singapore sits astride a focal point of international shipping routes. Close to 90,000 ships pass through the Straits of Malacca and Singapore each year, accounting for one third of global container trade^[1]. The port of Singapore handled 39 million containers in 2023^[2].

The Republic of Singapore Navy plays an important role in ensuring the safe and secure passage of ships through the waters around Singapore, and the contiguous seas of the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. It does so in collaboration with other navies. Indeed, the sea lanes of the world are interconnected. The Republic of Singapore Navy has also contributed to keeping sea lanes open in the Gulf of Aden – sending ships, maritime patrol aircraft, and command elements that work in partnership with other navies, including the German Navy.

Our new submarines will enhance the Republic of Singapore Navy's ability to fulfil her mission of protecting the sea lines of communication in our region. All countries stand to benefit when our seas are safe and secure.

Strong Bilateral and Defence Relations between Singapore and Germany

We need steadfast and reliable partners around the world to tackle shared challenges — of which protecting the global maritime commons is one. Germany is such a partner for Singapore. Our two countries have built strong and mutually beneficial relations across many domains – in business, finance, education, culture, science and technology, and of course, defence.

Our defence ties continue to be strong and substantive. These ties are anchored by our Defence Cooperation Agreement, which was enhanced in 2018, expanding the breadth of our security cooperation. In fact, I signed the original defence cooperation agreement while I was at MINDEF.

Our defence forces cooperate on land, in the air, and at sea, both in training and operations. We are also expanding defence cooperation in the digital domain. Since 2020, Germany has deployed an International Liaison Officer at the Republic of Singapore Navy's Information Fusion Centre where countries share information to respond to maritime incidents and safeguard merchant shipping worldwide. Germany continues to support the training of our Army's armour units at the Oberlausitz Military Training Area. We thank you very much for that. In the air domain, Singapore hosted the German Air Force's inaugural deployment for Operation Rapid Pacific in 2022.

Last year at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Germany announced that she will deploy a two-ship task force to the Asia-Pacific – first-of-class frigate Baden-Württemberg and combat supply ship Frankfurt am Main. We welcome Germany's continued support for peace and security in our region, and look forward to the opportunity to host your ships.

Close Collaboration between Singapore and Germany's Navies and Defence Industries

Inimitable is the product of the longstanding and strong relationship that Singapore has with Germany in the naval domain. Our navy's first missile boats, acquired in the early 1970s, were built in Germany. I had the honour of serving on them. When we started our submarine journey, Germany was a key country where we sent our officers for training to gain experience. Many of our military officers have attended German military courses, including the German Submarine Commanding Officer Course.

While today marks the launch of the last in this series of Invincible-class submarines, our partnership will continue. tkMS will continue to provide technical training and in-service support for the RSN and ST Engineering to operationalise these boats. Our submariners will also continue professional exchanges through the Submarine Affiliation Programme.

Throughout the Invincible project, the German Navy has very generously provided us access to your submarine simulators so that the RSN's teams could train while the boats were being constructed. Both sides, I believe, have benefited from this interaction. At the German Submarine Training Centre, German instructors responded positively to our crews' desire to push the limits in their training. As a result, new operational processes were developed that, I am told, have since also been adopted by the German Navy.

We have had many years of fruitful collaboration with our friends at tkMS. I am told that our tkMS colleagues have discovered the joy of eating microwaved ba kwa – a savoury-sweet, dried meat – during sea trials out in the freezing Northern European waters. Our submariners have equally enjoyed tkMS' tradition of "diving schokolade"– chocolate to celebrate each successful dive. I thank all our friends from tkMS, and all your employees, who have worked so hard to deliver these submarines, and for your contributions and the support you have given to our Navy team.

These opportunities for cross-training and interaction have been invaluable to our submariners, and we thank our German friends for supporting the growth of our submarine community.

Singapore's Submarine Journey

In addition to launching the last Invincible-class submarine in Germany, we will also be commissioning our first back home in Singapore later this year. These milestones are indicative of the progress the RSN has made over its 25 years of submarine operations.

Our submarine journey began in the late 1980s. The RSN recognised then that developing its own submarine capability was critical for it to achieve the strategic mission of protecting vital sea routes and securing Singapore's access to the seas.

In 1999, I had the honour of officiating at the launch of Conqueror and Centurion. These were refurbished submarines that we renamed the Challenger-class. A decade later, we launched our first Archer-class submarine. Its automated systems and air-independent propulsion and integration with the RSN's service fleet were significant advances from the earlier Challenger-class.

Now, with the help of our German friends, we have delivered a submarine which is uniquely Singaporean – specially adapted for our waters, and fitted with advanced digital systems to meet our mission and operational needs.

I have watched with tremendous satisfaction the great strides our submarine community has made since an all-Singaporean crew first dived a submarine in 1997.

Conclusion

The Invincible project and the launch of Inimitable mark a new era for Singapore's submarine journey. This is the culmination of hard work by capable and dedicated people who persevered through the challenging years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, a boat is only as good as its crew. These new boats have many advanced capabilities, but their crew must have the spirit of excellence to operate the boats to their full potential, and the courage and determination to do so. Our submariners will need imagination and daring to translate the new capabilities of our submarines into fresh fighting concepts.

To the crew of Inimitable, I encourage you to live up to your boat's name – to be matchless and unrivalled in the execution of your duty. And to our new generation of submariners, I exhort you to safeguard Singapore's peace and security with tenacity and distinction, just as your submarine pioneers did before you.

I thank all our partners and friends. Thank you very much.

[1]World Economic Forum, “These are the world’s most vital waterways for global trade”, 15 Feb 2024.

[2]The Straits Times, “Singapore port handled record 39.01 million shipping containers in 2023”, 13 Jan 2024.

More Resources

Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean Officiates the Launch Ceremony of Inimitable - Singapore Navy's Fourth Invincible - class Submarine