A strong and silent keeper of the peace
Straits Times, The (Singapore) – July 1, 2008
Author: David Boey , For The Straits Times
EVEN as the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF)
marks SAF Day this evening with a parade, a
sizeable number of military personnel will remain on guard – the
vigilant lions protecting the Lion City.
But many Singaporeans may be unaware of this, believing all’s
well. Apart from the threat transnational terrorists pose, the lack
of a clear and present danger from a hostile nation might seduce
them into viewing the world through rose-tinted glasses. Such
naivety would not only be wrong, it would also be dangerous.
During a study visit I made to Malaysia last year, a senior
Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) officer shared with me an episode in
Singapore-Malaysia relations that he said occurred during a period
of tension.
According to the officer, the MAF was put
on alert in late 1998 as politicians on both sides of the Causeway
argued over the status of the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine
(CIQ) checkpoint at Malaysia’s railway station in Tanjong
Pagar.
News articles from the period chronicle the public exchanges,
but say nothing of the defence postures that the SAF and MAF adopted during this
period.
Kuala Lumpur’s unwillingness to acknowledge its heightened
military preparedness – which military officials on both sides
privately acknowledge did occur – was an astute move.
It indicated a tacit acknowledgement on the part of Malaysia’s
defence officials that they could not allow the CIQ issue to flare into a casus belli. The full force
potential of the SAF when mobilised renders
it a formidable opponent.
There were other telling signs that bilateral ties were not well
during that period. These included Singapore’s decision to conduct
two open mobilisation exercises in September and October 1998.
Records indicate that the SAF rarely calls up
its manpower in successive months.
It should be noted that such open mobilisation exercises – overt
call-ups of defence manpower broadcast over television, radio and
in cinemas – are probably complemented by silent mobilisations. Few
beyond Singapore’s defence establishment would be aware of
this.
The CIQ episode resembles an earlier
episode in Singapore-Malaysia relations when military power was
flexed in a show of force, apparently to intimidate the tiny island
nation.
Operationally Ready National Servicemen who served in 1991 would
recall the joint Malaysian-Indonesian military exercise, codenamed
Malindo Darsasa 3AB, that occurred that year. It involved an
airborne assault by paratroopers in southern Johor.
If the name of the airborne assault, codenamed Pukul Habis
(Malay for ‘Total Wipeout’
, as well as
the choice of a drop zone just 18km from Singapore, were not
sufficiently provocative, the scheduling of the airdrop on Aug 9th
– Singapore’s 26th National Day – most certainly was.
The SAF’s response was measured and
confident. It triggered an Open Mobilisation on the eve of National
Day, a fact that was reported extensively in the local media.
The move was calculated not to escalate tensions. But it
signalled also Singapore’s determination not to welcome a Trojan
horse on its doorstep.
Such episodes cannot be kept secret from NSmen, of course. But
because they were deliberately kept low key, many Singaporeans were
probably unaware of the full picture. Consequently, they may have
failed to see the relevance of a strong military.
Singapore has warm and friendly ties with its neighbours. It
will often go the extra mile to keep things on an even keel with
them. But Singaporeans should understand and accept that there are
always undercurrents in bilateral relations.
Those who wonder about the relevance of the SAF should ponder how these past episodes might have
panned out if Singapore had yielded to military pressure.
A strong and vigilant SAF is Singapore’s
hedge against trouble. Singapore’s formidable military arsenal –
and, more crucially, the fighting spirit of its citizen soldiers –
are guarantors of peace.
The writer is this newspaper’s former defence correspondent.
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