The Five Power Defence Arrangements: time for the 'quiet achiever' to emerge

The defence chiefs of the members of the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) had a crucial dialogue in June . The five states—Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom—reaffirmed their commitment to collaborate in conventional and non-conventional security domains to keep pace with the evolving challenges in the region. They also mulled over the FPDA Exercise Concept Directive 2021 and a 10-year roadmap for greater strategic and defence cooperation in training and preparedness to enhance their operational capacity and interoperability. The FPDA was established in April 1971 against the backdrop of ongoing armed conflicts in the region (the…