From the Strait Times Webby:-
KUALA LUMPUR - MALAY-LANGUAGE newspaper in Malaysia has published
an article explaining why the Republic of Singapore Air Force
(RSAF) will not be affected if its jets are not allowed to train in
Johor's airspace.
Berita Harian Malaysia ran the article last Saturday after a recent
meeting between Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and
Singapore's Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.
The leaders had discussed RSAF jets training in Malaysian airspace,
an issue that had sparked concerns over Malaysia's sovereignty and
security.
These concerns, expressed by Johor's Menteri Besar Abdul Ghani
Othman and Johor Umno Youth, are valid, said the article written by
Associate Professor Azmi Hassan of Univer- siti Teknologi
Malaysia.
He noted that the issue of Malaysian sovereignty had arisen several
times in the past because RSAF jets took advantage of a bilateral
pact and 'flew over undesignated zones'.
'Even though Singapore gave reasons to justify its actions,
Malaysians considered these as intrusions as they violated our
national sovereignty,' he wrote.
'In fact, after Malaysia cancelled the agreement there were several
incidents of our airspace being intruded upon by RSAF jets.'
He also cited Malaysia's security as 'another factor why our
airspace should not be opened to RSAF jets'.
Referring to the RSAF as a highly efficient organisation 'with the
most sophisticated modern arms and equipment', he said Singapore
could allocate up to 9 per cent of its gross domestic product for
defence.
With this 'extremely high allocation', the RSAF can afford to buy
the best equipment and pay for airspace and other training
facilities for RSAF pilots, he added.
Singapore has forged several types of training cooperation with
countries such as the United States, Australia and Thailand.
It is also involved in joint military exercises with the United
States and Australia 'which are more than adequate for RSAF
pilots', said Prof Azmi.
He said: 'Actually there is no need for Malaysia to open up its
airspace to the RSAF as the RSAF has everything.
'Such a stand should not be construed as bullying or not wanting to
compromise as Singapore has better alternatives.
'It is not an exaggeration to say that allowing the RSAF the use of
Malaysian airspace is 10 times better than the water supply
obtained by the Republic at the current rate of three sen per
gallon.
'Owing to the current problem of airspace, the RSAF is forced to
keep almost 40 per cent of its military assets overseas, in
countries such as the US and Australia.
'From the military strategy aspect this is not good. In the event
of an emergency in Singapore, the process of transporting RSAF
assets such as fighter jets would obviously take time and make it
hard for RSAF to react.
'However, with their large defence allocation and current
expertise, Singapore certainly can resolve its airspace problem and
not depend on Malaysia.'
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Ah.....I thought we use their Air space because it provides a
better access to South China Sea for training?
We got use their air space for training 
