Singapore's best defence policy is peace. There is no value add
in offensice or defensive military engagement. Win, lose or draw we
would be strategically defeated in economic, social and political
terms. The premise of our success as an economy has been and
continues to be our stability. Therefore any military adventure,
even one forced upon us, is by this fundamental measure a
defeat.
Then why do we invest so much in defense? There are 2 reasons. The
first as a deterrence and a particular kind of deterrence -
offensive deterrent. That is to say, that we strive for the
capability not only to defeat attacks but to counter with our
own.
The second, is for social cohesion. The SAF has morphed over time
to be a socio-political force in its own right. Every male learns
the hard lesson of conformity, heirarchy and discipline when he
hits 18. The SAF has also become development engine for "ideal"
leaders. So military leaders transform into political ones. The men
lead when in uniform become the people who follow, when in their
whites.
Ultimately, one may abide my the first rationale but should
correctly, be concerned with the second. We risk cultivating a
junta of the generals, whose perspective, attitudes, training,
values and comprehension of society cannot but fail to display a
uniformity.