7/30/2019 ThedefenceofSingaporeisduefullytoeffortsoftheSingaporeArmedForces (1)

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The defence of Singapore is due fully to efforts of the Singapore Armed Forces. Do you agree?Explain your answer.

I agree that the defence of Singapore is due to efforts of the Singapore Armed Forces. TheSAF is largely made up of a citizen army, where young male Singaporeans serve for 2 year in the

conscript army. Thereafter, all soldiers are to serve in the reserves for a minimum of 10 years. Duringthis time, soldiers under-go rigourous military training. The SAF is also well armed, with a powerfularray of high tech weapons such as the Leopard tank and Apache helicopters. These deliver apowerful blow against any aggressors. As such, the SAF defence Singapore by making sure thatany nation that attacks us would be sure to suffer heavy losses. This deters aggressors, as itwould not be worth the expense and loss of life just to capture our small but deadly state. Aswith a scorpion with a powerful sting, we are thus able to scare away attackers as we will notbe an easy meal, thus ensuring that Singapore can be defended.

However, I disagree that the defence of Singapore is due fully to the effort of the SAF aloneAnother factor is Total Defence. Total Defence was introduced in 1984 to involve everyone in the

defence of the country. It consists of 5 aspects: Military, Civil, Economic, Social and PsychologicalThrough these elements, all Singaporeans are committed and play a part in the defence ofSingapore. As such, this will deter an aggressor who knows that he will have to fight againstevery Singaporean who will do his best to stop the invasion. Singapore will not fall easily, andthus it will not be easy to defeat. Enemies will be deterred and hence our sovereignty will beensured.

Another reason why I disagree is that military co-operation that Singapore adopts with othernations also contribute to the defence of Singapore.

The Singapore government actively fosters friendly ties with the armed forces of other countries. This

is conducted through bilateral and multilateral military agreements, joint military exercises, trainingprogrammes and participation in the UN peace keeping missions. Singapore has military agreementswith countries such as France, Australia, New Zealand and India. These strengthen ties betweennations, so that should Singapore be attacked, we have allies who will be committed to assistus in our defence. This will mean that the aggressor will face not just Singapore, but many ofher close friends. With such overwhelming international pressure, the aggressor will not wishto continue the attack, and Singapores sovereignty will be ensured.

In the end, I think however, that the efforts of the SAF is far more important that total defence. This is because the basis of deterrence must be a military one. No matter how co-ordinated thepeople or how psychologically strong they are, without a strong military response, an invader caneasily walk in and conquer a country. That is why there is a military element even in Total Defence.The SAF is the keystone of deterrence, the other elements of total defence merely makes iteasier to sustain the SAFs military efforts. We cannot even depend completely on military co-operation completely as we have no control on how these countries will react when Singaporeis under attack. Therefore , I strongly feel that the defence of Singapore is due manly to theeffort of the SAF supplemented with Total Defence and military co-operation.