50th Anniversary of Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA)

Date of Issue : 1 Nov 2021

Postmark : Singapore

Denomination : 1st Local, 70c, 90c and S$1.40

Stamp Size : 33.88 mm x 48 mm

Paper : Unwatermarked

Printing Process : Offset Lithography

The Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) was formalised on 1 Nov 1971 by Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom as a pact to provide external defence for Malaysia and Singapore. Under the Arrangements, the five nations are to consult one another immediately in the event of armed threats or attacks on Malaysia or Singapore. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of FPDA in 2021, this set of stamps showcases the strong people-to-people ties fostered among the five militaries and defence establishments over the past fifty years, as well as the deployment of air, land and sea assets from all five militaries in FPDA exercises.

The first day cover for this issue was withdrawn within the first hour after it was available for sale on 1 Nov 2021 due to wrong timestamp on the cover – the covers time travelled back and were pre-cancelled on 23 Oct 2021 instead of 1 Nov 2021! Still curious? See below image – not my cover though (I missed the boat to get an error cover), image sourced from the web.