According to Naval magazine, the navy with the leading power in Southeast Asia today, is said to be Indonesia.
With a very complex geographical position, this country is required to invest heavily in the navy. Indonesia is also a rare country in the region, capable of building its own frigates.
The Martadinata-class missile frigates are locally built by Indonesia based on the Dutch license, and are equipped with Exocet anti-ship missiles from France. In addition to extremely powerful missile frigates, Indonesia also possesses a large submarine fleet, along with the ability to build its own submarines based on technology transfer from South Korea. In the event of a conflict, the capabilities of the Indonesian navy will be further enhanced, thanks to its excellent self-manufacturing capabilities.
It is quite surprising that Singapore is said to have the second largest naval power in Southeast Asia today. In particular, the backbone warships of this country’s navy is stealth frigates based on the Formidable class designed and manufactured by France. The Singapore Navy’s six Formidable-class frigates have put the country in second place in the region, despite the fact that Singapore has only 38 warships of all kinds.
The main weapons of the Formidable-class frigates are the world’s most modern Harpoon anti-ship missiles, imported from the US. Surprisingly, five of the six Formidable-class warships were domestically built, with only the first being foreign-built.
And the most surprising is in third place with Thailand. Although Thailand uses the Chakri Naruebet aircraft carrier mainly for tourism purposes, this is still the only country in Southeast Asia that owns an aircraft carrier. According to military experts, the world’s smallest aircraft carrier that Thailand owns, is currently not capable of deploying aircraft and has a combat value of zero.
However, the reputation it brings to Thailand is undisputed. It is the only active carrier in the region. Regardless of the fact that Chakri Naruebet is serviceable or not, it is still the only aircraft carrier in Southeast Asia today. Despite having the only aircraft carrier in the region, Thailand does not have a submarine at all. Bangkok’s plan to buy S26T submarines from China has so far been delayed indefinitely.
