Sept. 7, 2017, marks 50 years of diplomatic relations between Singapore and Indonesia.
Post-Konfrontasi
The idea of diplomatic relations between both countries was brought up in 1966.
However, during the tense post-Confrontation period, Singapore requested to put off diplomatic exchange until Malaysia and Indonesia resumed their diplomatic ties.
Over the last few decades, Singapore and Indonesia have maintained diplomatic ties through various activities, chief among which are the military exercises between the two countries.
Air exercise
Exercise Elang Indopura is one such activity.
Conceptualised in 1979, the biennial air exercise was created to foster better ties between the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) and her Indonesian counterpart, Tentara Nasional Indonesia-Angkatan Udara (TNI–AU).
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June 1980, first exercise
The first Exercise Elang Indopura was held in June 1980 in Madiun, East Java.
Both RSAF and TNI-AU formed a Combined Air Task Force (CATF) and performed joint missions such as armed reconnaissance, search and rescue, and medical evacuations. The inaugural exercise culminated in a simulated attack on Kali Brantas Bridge in Kertosono town.
Elang Indopura 1 was a milestone for the RSAF because it was the first exercise where its forces were stationed in a foreign land.
Over the years, the strong relationship between Singapore and Indonesia saw each country taking turns to host the exercise every two years.
Following the success of the first Elang Indopura, the exercise grew bigger with more complicated scenarios and greater variants of aircraft with each biennial iteration.
Rendered humanitarian aid
Elang Indopura was not the only exercise between both air forces though.
Other RSAF and TNI-AU exercises included Exercise Camar IndoPura (Maritime Air Patrol Exercise); and Exercise Manyar IndoPura (Search & Rescue Exercise).
Apart from military exercises, the RSAF has, on several occasions, rendered humanitarian assistance at Indonesia's request.
This included a 2004 humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) deployment of six RSAF C-130 Hercules aircraft, six Chinook helicopters, and two Super Pumas to tsunami-stricken Aceh and a 2005 deployment of Chinooks to Medan during the Nias earthquake.
As part of the 50-year celebration, RSAF and TNI-AU will be performing a combined flypast on Sept. 7.
The combined flypast will consist of 10 RSAF F-16s and 10 TNI-AU F-16s.
They will fly in an "arrow-head" formation and a "50" formation.
An aerial salute performed by five RSAF F-15SGs in a bomb burst manoeuvre will also take place.
The flypast will be viewed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
If you're interested in viewing the flypast, you can catch it from the Marina South area on Sept. 7.
Top images from MINDEF
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