U.S. to Base Warships in Singapore

Once a great British naval base, Singapore will soon be home to "one or two" of the U.S. Navy's new Littoral Combat Ships (LCS).

Defence Secretary Robert Gates announced plans for the base during his visit to Singapore last week. ... According to the Singaporean Defence Ministry, those steps include deploying to Singapore ‘one or two’ of the new Littoral Combat Ships current under construction in the United States. The 400-foot-long, high-speed warships, optimized for shallow-water operations, would be the first US military vessels permanently stationed in the tiny Southeast Asian country, although the Navy for many years has maintained a support facility there.

The linked article speculates that this might be a response to Chinese naval expansion