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Singapore Total Defence Concept
Singapore's leaders defined
Total Defence (see Glossary) as the
capability of the nation to deter or overcome aggression
by
maintaining small, well-equipped regular armed forces
backed up by
a large, well-trained military reserve and a civil sector
that
could be quickly mobilized to provide support to the armed
forces.
By 1989 Singapore had each of these components in place.
The air
force was recognized as one of the best in the region, and
the army
continued to make steady progress in improving its
capability to
react, albeit on a limited scale, to repel an invasion.
The
addition of six corvettes strengthened the navy's ability
to defend
territorial waters and conduct limited operations farther
out to
sea. More than 50 percent of Singapore males had received
formal
military training, and more than 10 percent of them
belonged to a
reserve unit. The Ministry of Defence monitored the combat
capabilities of reserve units through frequent training
and
mobilization exercises. The country was believed to have
adequate
stockpiles of fuel and ammunition. Its military logistics
and
maintenance capabilities were excellent. Finally, a
national Civil
Defence Force, established in 1982, had gradually been
expanded to
coordinate military, police, and civilian organizations
involved in
efforts to maintain internal security and to restore vital
services
quickly during wartime and other emergencies.
In 1989 the most apparent weakness in Singapore's Total
Defence
system was the friction between the government and
business
community over the financial and social costs of
sustaining the
defense sector. As the birth rate declined after 1967, the
percentage of males drafted for service increased each
year.
Concurrently, the number of persons available to
Singapore's
expanding export industries also decreased. Thus, some
business
leaders were critical of government policies that
perpetuated the
national service system and argued that the armed forces
had grown
too large and that new weapons, increased army pay, and
other
military programs were unnecessary. The same business
leaders were
reluctant to grant workers leave for reserve training.
Governmentsponsored public opinion polls confirmed that a large
segment of
the general population questioned the need for national
service. A
poll taken in 1983 indicated that 40 percent of
Singaporeans
thought that national service was a waste of time and
money.
Government officials defended the system by arguing that
even small
countries must maintain credible defenses or risk
disaster. They
also noted that a large percentage of personnel trained by
the
armed forces in various technical and professional fields
were well
prepared to compete for skilled jobs in the private sector
when
they completed the active-duty portion of their national
service.
In the mid-1980s, the government began a variety of public
relations programs to overcome opposition to its defense
policies
and, as of 1989, had no intention of reducing manpower
levels or
proposing cuts in military spending.
Data as of December 1989
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