On the part of Singapore, i cannot speak for our neighbour in the north, i believe its a part of our defense diplomacy thingy. Networking mah..

Also i believe that such high-profile exercise would justify defense dollars. This probably applies to all parties
Finally, IMHO, if i've a rival who's also taking part in it, it's a useful and perfectly legit cover to monitor and observe him...correct?

Other than the FDPA, i don't think there's any other opportunity