Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong visited Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) troops participating in Exercise Wallaby 2012 today at the Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA) in Queensland, Australia. During his visit hosted by Chief of Army Major General Ravinder Singh, Mr Lee witnessed an integrated air-land live-firing exercise involving platforms such as the Leopard 2SG Main Battle Tanks, Skyblade III Mini-Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, AH-64D Apache helicopters and the Terrex Infantry Carrier Vehicles (ICV). The Terrex ICVs are participating in Exercise Wallaby for the first time. Thereafter, Mr Lee viewed static displays of various SAF platforms, and drove the Terrex ICV. Mr Lee also interacted with servicemen who participated in the live-firing exercise, comprising personnel from the 5th Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment, 201 Squadron, and the SAF's Armour Specialist Cadet Course. Speaking to the media after his interactions, Mr Lee said "To be able to manoeuvre, to fire, to get an experience of unfamiliar ground, I think it is something very valuable for us. Most important is that we have Full-Time National Servicemen and Operationally Ready National Servicemen who are keen, who are committed, who are doing their best and mastering their skills as well as performing their duties for Singapore."

This year's Exercise Wallaby is conducted from 22 Sep to 24 Nov 2012. More than 4300 SAF personnel and over 350 SAF platforms are involved in this year's exercise.

Exercise Wallaby 2012, the 22nd in its series since 1990, is a testament to the close and longstanding defence relationship between Singapore and Australia. The SAF and the Australian Defence Force (ADF) share a long history of military cooperation, with extensive interactions that include bilateral and multilateral exercises, professional exchanges, and the cross-attendance of courses. The SAF and the ADF are also cooperating in the multinational stabilisation and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. In addition to SWBTA, the SAF also conducts training in other Australian training areas such as Pearce, Western Australia, Oakey, Queensland, and Tamworth, New South Wales.

Mr Lee was accompanied by Mrs Lee, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Defence and National Development, Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Community Development, Youth & Sports, Sam Tan Chin Siong, as well as Members of Parliament and senior officials from the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the SAF.