The Republic of Singapore Navy and the Royal Thai Navy have enjoyed a close relationship with each other for a long time.
It is known that both Navies conduct visits and exercises with each other on a regular basis. It is hence not uncommon to see officers from both Navies in Singapore and Thailand.
Most recently, a Singapore-based photographer made some new friends when he came across a group of Thai Navy officers at Marina Bay. The photographer, Song Thye, offered to take some photographs of them, and subsequently posted about it on his TikTok.
The stunning pictures that resulted from this heartwarming encounter captured the attention of social media users, with many saying that they spotted Thai Navy boys exploring Singapore during the weekend.
In the video, three Thai Navy officers could be seen posing for the pictures. Song Thye remarked that they were “so serious”, but they slowly warmed up to his lens.
The Thai officers posed for pictures in front of the Singapore city skyline individually and as a group. The photos that came out of this spontaneous shoot saw the young Navy men in more formal positions, such as standing at attention and saluting.
Image courtesy of Song Thye
They also treated Song Thye to some casual poses, such as giving thumbs-ups and leaning against the railings along Marina Bay.
Image courtesy of Song Thye
Responding to a comment on what the Thai Navy officers were doing in Singapore, Song Thye replied that he thinks they are here for a routine exercise.
Source: TikTok
Other TikTok users also remarked that they spotted officers from the Thai Navy in many places over the weekend.
Source: TikTok
Speaking to MS News, Song Thye said this encounter was not planned.
Being a street photographer, he would go out on the weekends to take photos for random strangers, with their permission. When the photos are ready, he will send the photos to his subjects.
He shared that he was just strolling around Marina Bay on the evening of Friday (10 Mar) when he came across the three Thai Navy officers taking photos near the Merlion. That was when he approached them and asked if he could take their pictures.
Image courtesy of Song Thye
“They were very keen and nodded enthusiastically — I later found out 2 of them were also photographers.”
When asked if he knew what the Thai Navy officers were doing in Singapore, the photographer told us that he did not probe into the reason. “I presumed some sort of joint training exercise could be going on, or they could be just docking [in Singapore].”
Song Thye shared that the officers were nice, warm and friendly, and the encounter was quite funny at the start. “They were so serious and even stood at attention for the photoshoot, as if they were at their training grounds”.
Image courtesy of Song Thye
He urged them to relax, and eventually got them to try some different poses, such as saluting and posing against the railing.
“When they saw the photos, they were very happy and said, ‘Good! good! This is good photo!’.
“I told them I would send them the photos, and we exchanged Instagram handles. I sent them the photos on Friday night — all three were very happy with the photos, and one of them also asked me more about my photography work and setup.”
Image courtesy of Song Thye
On Saturday morning (11 Mar), Song Thye uploaded the video to Instagram and TikTok.
The three Thai Navy officers and their friends in Thailand also shared it around on their social media pages. That is probably one of the reasons the video is currently the photographer’s most viewed TikTok video.
It’s not every day that we hear of such extraordinary encounters under such spontaneous circumstances.
We wish Song Thye the best in his photography pursuits. We also hope that the Thai Navy officers in Singapore this weekend had a wonderful time in our city, and wish them good luck and safety for the rest of their exercise.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image courtesy of Song Thye.
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