REGIonal

militaries

(^32) | AsiAn MilitAry review |
by Dr. Alix Valenti

D

r. Ng Eng Hen, Singapore’s
minister for defence,
concluded his address to the
Committee of Supply Debate
on 3rd March 2017, with the
following words: “The most dependable
guarantee of our independence is a
strong Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).
A strong SAF, in turn, depends on the
political will to make the effort and pay
the price.” The Committee of Supply is a
committee comprising the whole of the
Singapore parliament which considers
each ministry’s requests for budget, and
votes on this request accordingly. Dr. Ng’s
words were attributed to Dr. Goh Keng
Swee, Singapore first minister of defence
from 1965 until 1979 who built a strong
local defence force by implementing
compulsory national service for all male

Two key factors are driving the modernisation of Singapore’s armed

forces: increasing regional security concerns and declining national

birth rates. In this context, the modernisation of the armed forces

hinges upon multimission platforms, networked soldiers and robotics.

Singaporeans aged 18 and above.

One major challenge facing Singapore

is the country’s declining birth rate which,

over the past two decades, has significantly

reduced the manpower available to the

SAF. Official statistics state that Singapore

had 1.8 births per woman in 1990, which

has since fallen to 1.2 births per woman

in 2012. However, Singapore has been

making the effort and paying the price to

build a ‘next generation’ military focused

on highly trained and technologically

advanced soldiers. From new

departments and Military Operations in

Urban Terrain (MOUT) training grounds

to defence procurement, the Singapore

Army, Republic of Singapore Air Force

(RSAF) and the Republic of Singapore

Navy (RSN) are undergoing significant

modernisation.

Singapore Army

The Singapore Army is perhaps the

branch of the armed forces that has been

benefiting the most from technological

developments and advances. According

to Richard Bitzinger, senior fellow at the

maritime security programme of the

S. Rajaratnam School of International

Studies in Singapore: “While all three

branches of the armed forces are equally

important, the Singapore Army is the

most politically charged: it is the oldest

one, made out mostly of conscripts, and

has been a key element of the country’s

nation building strategy from the start.”

Nevertheless, it is also the branch that is

most directly affected by the country’s

declining birth rate (see above). Indeed,

while for the RSAF and RSN it is possible

to acquire or build new platforms with

DOING MORE WITH LESS

Singapore-US military

relations continue to be

important for both nations,

with regular bilateral

exercises held to this end.

US Army