Operation Thunderstorm
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Operation Thunderstorm
Operation Thunderstorm was the codename for the Singapore Armed Forces's operation to contain refugees fleeing South Vietnam following the fall of Saigon in 1975. The operation was oversaw by Wong Kan Seng. Background Following the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975, large numbers of South Vietnamese begun to flee Vietnam for fear of persecution heralding the arrival of the Vietnamese boat people. On 2 May 1975, the first wave of 300 refugees arrived in Singapore waters on board the vessel ''Truong Hai''. A total of up to 8,355 refugees was believed to have entered Singapore waters during this period until 14 May 1975. During this period, Operation Thunderstorm was activated by MINDEF, making Singapore one of the first countries to stop refugees from entering its coastlines. The operation involved the Republic of Singapore Air Force, Republic of Singapore Navy, Singapore Army and the then-Marine Police (now the Police Coast Guard) as well as various government authorities and agenc ...
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Singapore Armed Forces
The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are the military services of the Republic of Singapore, responsible for protecting and defending the security interests and the sovereignty of the country. A military component of the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), the armed forces have four service branches: the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Digital and Intelligence Service. An integrated force, it is one of the most capable, robust, technologically sophisticated and powerful militaries in Southeast Asia and the surrounding regions. The SAF is headed by the chief of Defence Force, who holds the rank of a Lieutenant-General or Vice-Admiral, and is appointed by the president of Singapore. The SAF consists of four service branches: the Singapore Army, the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), and the Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS). The SAF protects the interests, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Singapore from external threats ...
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South Vietnam
South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of the Cold War after the 1954 division of Vietnam. It first received international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the French Union, with its capital at Saigon (renamed to Ho Chi Minh City in 1976), before becoming a republic in 1955. South Vietnam was bordered by North Vietnam to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and Thailand across the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest. Its sovereignty was recognized by the United States and 87 other nations, though it failed to gain admission into the United Nations as a result of a Soviet veto in 1957. It was succeeded by the Republic of South Vietnam in 1975. The end of the Second World War saw anti-Japanese Việt Minh guerrilla forces, led by communist fi ...
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Fall Of Saigon
The Fall of Saigon, also known as the Liberation of Saigon by North Vietnamese or Liberation of the South by the Vietnamese government, and known as Black April by anti-communist overseas Vietnamese was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam (Viet Cong) on 30 April 1975. The event marked the end of the Vietnam War and the start of a transition period from the formal reunification of Vietnam into the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The PAVN, under the command of General Văn Tiến Dũng, began their final attack on Saigon on 29 April 1975, with the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) forces commanded by General Nguyễn Văn Toàn suffering a heavy artillery bombardment. By the afternoon of the next day, the PAVN and the Viet Cong had occupied the important points of the city and raised their flag over the South Vietnamese presidential palace. The capture of the ci ...
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Wong Kan Seng
Wong Kan Seng ( zh, s=黄根成, j=Wong4 Gan1 Sing4, poj=N̂g Kun-sêng, p=Huáng Gēnchéng; born 8 September 1946) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore between 2005 and 2011. He has been serving as Chairman of the United Overseas Bank since 2018. A former member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kuo Chuan SMC between 1984 and 1988, the Bishan East division of Thomson GRC between 1991 and 1997, and later Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC between 1997 and 2015. During his political career, Wong had served as Minister for Community Development between 1987 and 1991, Leader of the House between 1987 and 2007, Minister for Foreign Affairs between 1988 and 1994, Minister for Home Affairs between 1994 and 2010, Deputy Prime Minister between 2005 and 2011, and Coordinating Minister for National Security between 2010 and 2011. After his resignation from the Cabinet in 2011, Wong continued to ...
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The Straits Times
''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was established on 15 July 1845 as ''The Straits Times and Singapore Journal of Commerce''. ''The Straits Times'' is considered a newspaper of record for Singapore. The print and digital editions of ''The Straits Times'' and ''The Sunday Times'' have a daily average circulation of 364,134 and 364,849 respectively in 2017, as audited by Audit Bureau of Circulations Singapore. Myanmar and Brunei editions are published, with newsprint circulations of 5,000 and 2,500 respectively. History The original conception for ''The Straits Times'' has been debated by historians of Singapore. Prior to 1845, the only English-language newspaper in Singapore was ''The'' ''Singapore Free Press'', founded by William Napier in 1835. Marterus Thaddeus Apcar, an Armenian mer ...
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NewspaperSG
NewspaperSG is an online newspaper archive launched in 2010 containing newspapers distributed in Singapore, including those published in the 19th century. History The National Library Board and Singapore Press Holdings signed an agreement in 2007 to make digitised articles of ''The Straits Times'' available for public access at NLB libraries. NewspaperSG was launched on 28 January 2010. At the archive's launch, it included 14 newspapers, including the ''New Nation'', '' Sin Chew Jit Poh'', ''The Straits Times'', the ''Singapore Weekly Herald'', the ''Straits Mail'', '' The Business Times'', ''today'', the '' Malayan Saturday Post'', the '' Straits Observer'', and the ''Straits Telegraph and Daily Advertiser''. In December 2017, six more newspapers were added to the archive, the '' Syonan Shimbun'', ''Comrade'', the ''Indian Daily Mail'', the ''Malaya Tribune'', the '' Morning Tribune'', and the ''Sunday Tribune The ''Sunday Tribune'' was an Irish Sunday broadsheet newspaper pub ...
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Vietnamese Boat People
Vietnamese boat people ( vi, Thuyền nhân Việt Nam), also known simply as boat people, refers to the refugees who fled Vietnam by boat and ship following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. This migration and humanitarian crisis was at its highest in 1978 and 1979, but continued into the early 1990s. The term is also often used generically to refer to the Vietnamese people who left their country in a mass exodus between 1975 and 1995 (see Indochina refugee crisis). This article uses the term "boat people" to apply only to those who fled Vietnam by sea. The number of boat people leaving Vietnam and arriving safely in another country totaled almost 800,000 between 1975 and 1995. Many of the refugees failed to survive the passage, facing danger from pirates, over-crowded boats, and storms. According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, between 200,000 and 400,000 boat people died at sea. The boat people's first destinations were Hong Kong and the Southeast Asian l ...
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Ministry Of Defence (Singapore)
The Ministry of Defence (MINDEF; ms, Kementerian Pertahanan; zh, 新加坡国防部; ta, தற்காப்பு அமைச்சு) is a ministry of the Government of Singapore responsible for overseeing the national defence of Singapore. History MINDEF, together with the Ministry of Home Affairs, was created on 11 August 1970 by splitting up the then Ministry of Interior and Defence. Responsibilities MINDEF's mission is to "enhance Singapore's peace and security through deterrence and diplomacy, and should these fail, to secure a swift and decisive victory over the aggressor." It has a policy of ''Total Defence'' which consists of Military Defence, Civil Defence, Economic Defence, Social Defence, Psychological Defence and Digital Defence involving the people, public and private sectors of the country. Organisational structure MINDEF oversees a single statutory board, the Defence Science and Technology Agency. The Singapore Armed Forces, which is in charge of t ...
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The New Paper
''The New Paper'' is a Singaporean newspaper in tabloid form. It was originally published as a "noon paper", but since 2016 has been published daily as a freesheet in the morning from 7 a.m. onwards. History First launched on 26 July 1988, by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), it had an average daily circulation of 101,600 in August 2010, according to SPH. In 1991, the paper organised the New Paper Big Walk, a mass-participation walking event. The event came to be held annually in Singapore. It holds the official Guinness World Record as world's largest walk when a record-breaking 77,500 participants joined on 21 May 2000. There is also a noon edition that hits the newsstands on Mondays and Thursdays that gives more special coverage of late-night association football matches that occur after the morning edition goes to press. ''The New Paper'' was Singapore's second-highest circulating paid English-language newspaper before it became a free newspaper on 1 December 2016. ''Th ...
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Republic Of Singapore Air Force
The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) is the aerial service branch of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) responsible for controlling and defending the airspace of the country, and providing air support to the Army and Navy. It was established in 1968 as the Singapore Air Defence Command (SADC) before renaming to its current name in 1975. As the most powerful air force in Southeast Asia, the RSAF has undertaken a significant role in Singapore's military defence strategy since its formation. The RSAF has been considered by various analysts as being the most technologically advanced air force in the region, with the ability to successfully continuously act as a strong deterrence from potential hostile nations as well as defending the airspace of the island city-state. As of 2021, the RSAF uses four air bases domestically, most notably at Paya Lebar and Tengah, as well as at civil airports such as Changi and Seletar. It has also overseas detachments in various countries, most ...
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Republic Of Singapore Navy
The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) is the naval service branch of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) responsible for defending the country against any sea-borne threats, and the protection of its sea lines of communications, that would compromise Singapore as a global trading hub. The RSN traces its origins to the Royal Navy when Singapore was still a Crown colony of the British Empire. After Singapore's independence from Malaysia in 1965, the service was formally established in 1967, and had undergone a substantial modernisation ever since—which led them into becoming the most powerful navy in Southeast Asia. The RSN conducts operations with the Malaysian and Indonesian navies to combat piracy and terrorist threats in the crowded littoral waters of the Strait of Malacca and Singapore. It also jointly operates the Fokker 50 maritime patrol aircraft with its counterparts from the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) to provide air surveillance of the seaward approaches to Si ...
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Singapore Army
The Singapore Army is the land service branch of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). The largest of the four branches of the SAF, the Singapore Army traces its origins to the 1st Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment (1 SIR), which was formed in 1957, when Singapore was still under British colonial rule. After Singapore had gained independence, the Singapore Army Bill was passed in Parliament on 23 December 1965, and National Service (NS) was subsequently introduced in 1967. Mostly made up of conscripts, the Singapore Army can mobilise all operationally-ready military reservists in the event of war or national exigencies. Mission The mission of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) is to deter armed aggression, and to secure a swift and decisive victory should deterrence fail. The Army is also tasked with conducting peace-time operations to further Singapore's national interests and foreign policy. These range from disaster relief to peacekeeping, hostage rescue and other continge ...
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