For the coming fiscal year, Brunei is increasing its defense budget by 31.6%, the new total allocation coming in at around 594 million USD. When the budget changes were discussed within the country’s Legislative Council in March, it was raised that this spending surge comes in response to the complex and uncertain maritime security landscape of the region. The Ministry of Defense and Royal Brunei Armed Forces have made clear that this immediately pertains to “maintaining the territorial integrity of Brunei.” The International Trade Administration, a subsidiary of the U.S. Commerce Department, highlights this development as a business opportunity for U.S. defense contractors.
The U.S. and Brunei commitment on the defense and military-military relationship were reaffirmed this past March with a show of force when two 5th Generation F-35 U.S. Fighter Jets touched down at Rimba Air Base, Brunei, for a technology debut. A subsequent conversation between U.S. Pacific Air Forces and the Royal Brunei Air Force followed. Brunei’s defense equipment needs, however, more immediately pertain to surveillance and radar equipment, patrol boats, fixed-wing transport aircraft, and related logistical assets to address its concerns in the South China Sea.
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