Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

and

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

established

diplomatic relations Diplomacy is the communication by representatives of state, intergovernmental, or non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern Diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. ...

in 1984. Brunei has a high commission in Singapore, and Singapore has a high commission in

Bandar Seri Begawan Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB) is the capital and largest city of Brunei. It is officially a Municipalities of Brunei, municipal area () with an area of and an estimated population of 100,700 as of 2007. It is part of Brunei–Muara District, the s ...

. Brunei and Singapore have close and friendly relations with extensive defence co-operation.Omar, A. M. (2014). How Singapore and Brunei Became Friends. The AMO Times, 15. Both countries are members of

ASEAN The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated as ASEAN, is a regional grouping of 10 states in Southeast Asia "that aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its ten members." Together, its member states r ...

and

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...

History

The official relations between the two countries were established in 1984. In 2012, His Majesty the Sultan of Brunei

Hassanal Bolkiah Hassanal Bolkiah Muiz'zaddin Wad'daulah (born 15 July 1946) is the List of sultans of Brunei, Sultan of Brunei since 1967, and Prime Minister of Brunei, prime minister of Brunei since its independence from the United Kingdom in 1984. He is one ...

attended the 3rd

Singapore Airshow The Singapore Airshow is a biennial aerospace event held in Singapore, which debuted in 2008. It hosts high-level government and military delegations, as well as senior corporate executives around the world, while serving as a global event for ...

and met the then

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Lee Hsien Loong Lee Hsien Loong (born 10 February 1952) is a Singaporean politician and former military officer who served as the third Prime Minister of Singapore, prime minister of Singapore from 2004 to 2024, thereafter serving as a Senior Minister of S ...

and the former Prime Minister

Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew (born Harry Lee Kuan Yew; 16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean politician who ruled as the first Prime Minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. He is widely recognised ...

, while

Teo Chee Hean Teo Chee Hean ( zh, s=张志贤, poj=Tioⁿ Chì-hiân, p=Zhāng Zhìxián, first=poj; born 27 December 1954) is a Singaporean former politician and two-star rear-admiral who served as Senior Minister of Singapore and Coordinating Minister for ...

visited Brunei the same year.

Economic and monetary relations

Several memorandum of understanding have been signed and there is a Currency Interchangeability Agreement between the two countries which makes both

Brunei dollar The Brunei dollar (currency sign, sign: B$, Malay language, Malay: ''ringgit Brunei'', ISO 4217, currency code: ''BND''), has been the currency of Brunei, the Sultanate of Brunei since 1967. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, ...

and

Singapore dollar The Singapore dollar (currency sign, sign: S$; ISO 4217, code: SGD) is the official currency of the Singapore, Republic of Singapore. It is divided into 100 cent (currency), cents (, , ). It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or ...

banknotes and coins legal tender in either country.

Security relations

The

Singapore Armed Forces The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are the military of the Republic of Singapore, responsible for protecting and defending the security interests and the sovereignty of the country. A component of the Ministry of Defence (Singapore), Ministry of D ...

(SAF) has trained many Bruneian soldiers for a period of time. As compensation, Brunei granted the

to build a permanent jungle training camp in Temburong, named Lakiun Camp and officially opened in 1977. Brunei and Singapore began Exercise Airguard in 1994, which involves joint training between the

Royal Brunei Air Force The Royal Brunei Air Force (RBAirF), natively known as the (TUDB), is the air force of the sultanate of Brunei. It is headquartered and mainly based at the Royal Brunei Air Force Base, Rimba, opposite the Brunei International Airport (BIA).

and the

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 establis ...

, with the states alternating as hosts. The

Republic of Singapore Navy The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) is the Naval warfare, maritime Military branch, service branch of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) responsible for defending the country against any seaborne threats and as a guarantor of its sea lines of ...

also hosts exercises with

Royal Brunei Navy The Royal Brunei Navy (RBN), natively known as (TLDB) is the naval force of Brunei. It is a small but relatively well-equipped military force whose main responsibility is to conduct search and rescue missions, and to deter and defend the Bru ...

every year named Exercise Pelican. Besides, the

Singapore Police Force The Singapore Police Force (SPF) is the national and principal Police, law enforcement agency responsible for the prevention of crime and law enforcement in the Republic of Singapore. It is the country's lead agency against organised crime; hum ...

also deployed to Brunei to conduct Exercise Solar Wind. This exercise was jointly conducted by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF), supported by HTX (Home Team Science and Technology Agency). Some highly trained police officers from both forces continue to sharpen their post-blast investigation skills and hone their working relationship with their foreign counterparts. The joint training exercise is also an important platform for SPF to reinforce our strong training ties and relationship with the Royal Bruneian Police Force. The exercises usually involve around 70 personnel from both nations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brunei-Singapore relations

Bilateral relations of Singapore

History

Economic and monetary relations

Security relations

Further reading

References