Is Singapore western intelligence's 6th eye in Asia?

Singaporeprovides many benefits to the Western intelligence community in terms of special expertise in language, strategic position, and being a member of ASEAN. At the top level Singapore has fostered the development of a number of new think tanks and institutes such as S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) established in 2007, and the Institute for Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS)within RSIS, where many foreign academic and security experts have been employed to undertake "top-end" security analysis of the region. Some of these institutions are also partly funded by security agencies to undertake specific studies and analysis of interest.

One concern is that this growth in intelligence collection really has very little to do with terrorism and crime, but rather commercial interests. The death of Shane Todd in Singapore sheds a light on the relationship between industry and espionage, where there were concerns that the Chinese phone company Huawei is involved in espionage. Taxpayer money is being used to protect the intellectual property of private corporations.

Even though Singapore has been able to develop some cooperation with regional "allies" through programs like Eye-in-the-Sky (EiS), it is of a very limited nature as each countries forces are not allowed encroach upon  another's territorial waters. ASEAN security summits have really got nowhere. Singapore's enthusiastic participation in "five eyes" surveillance programs has created a foreign policy dilemma as it appears contrary to its own regional interests, and therefore national interests, if the integration of Singapore with the rest of the region through bodies like ASEAN is a priority. 

Singaporehas failed to be a major shaper of the ASEAN agenda. Singapore's ethnic make-up has not assisted it in developing any special relationship with China. Singapore is fast becoming an Asian anomaly, a stranger in its own home, out of synch with the rest of the region. It's a situation not unlike Israel, or Cuba in the extreme. This in the medium to long term will be counterproductive to its own National Security Strategy of prevention, protection, and response, and consequently national security.

Singapore's ruling elite have trouble seeing this, and as a consequence the very "events" they may be trying to prevent occurring on Singapore shores, may become more highly probable. This may be so because of the "sphere orientation" Singapore's cooperation with "five eyes" countries is creating, in relation to the rest of the region. Consequently Singapore must expect many more "please explain" requests from its near neighbors if it continues to carry on with the occidental "five eyes" countries without developing some form of "local intelligence" arrangement within ASEAN itself. However, the lack of cooperation within ASEAN over AEC project doesn't generate much optimism in this respect.

Island Singapore may thus just remain Island Singapore in an estranged relationship with the region it cannot geographically escape from.