Military history of Singapore

The first infantry unit was formed at Raffles Institution by volunteers on 15 May 1901. Notable members include the first commissioned officer, Yusof Ishak, who later became Singapore's first president.

Singapore has enjoyed a period of relative peace. Military exercises like Operation Cleansweep, with Raffles Corps commanding officer Chandra Venugopal, on May 1977 give the public a periodic display.

Konfrontasi was a policy of confrontation by Indonesia from 1963 to 1966, as it opposed to the formation of Malaysia and the existence of the Federation of Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore. It posed the only external threat to Singapore since the Japanese Occupation. The conflict was an intermittent war marked by armed incursions, bomb attacks, and acts of subversion and destabilisation and also included numerous raids by Indonesian volunteers on targets within then-Malaysia, which included Singapore. The Philippines were aligned with Indonesia due to its claim for Sabah. It broke off diplomatic relations with Malaysia, and did not participate in the hostilities.

One of the raids the MacDonald House bombing on 10 March 1965 by two Indonesian saboteurs. Two people were killed and thirty three were injured. The saboteurs were caught, and they turned out to be from the Korps Marinir. They were subsequently tried and executed, despite great pressure from Indonesia. In later years, the executions remained a source of unhappiness in Singapore-Indonesian relations. Lee Kuan Yew later sprinkled flowers on the graves of the Marines, helping heal the rift between the two countries.

During Konfrontasi, the First and Second Battalions, Singapore Infantry Regiment (1 SIR and 2 SIR) were placed under Malaysian command and deployed in various parts of Malaya to fight the saboteurs. Local defence was the responsibility of the Singapore Volunteer Corps and the Vigilante Corps.

Hostilities ended with the overthrow of President Sukarno in October 1965.

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