Didier Katumwa

I have never heard a speech like this from a Singapore Minister in parliament. It talks about great changes in the geo-political environment and its impact on Singapore and the lives of every Singaporean - maybe adversely. The last time somebody spoke like this about life and death issue and about the survival of Singapore as a nation was after 1965 by our first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. when Singapore became a small independent nation after being kicked out of Malaya and there were great doubts that Singapore could survive. Singapore Defence Minister Dr. Ng Eng Hen’s speech in parliament today – a seismic change is coming in the next 10 years. It will affect all our ways of life maybe precipitously and it is not business as usual. He is giving this speech in the backdrop of the Ukraine War, how Zelensky was treated poorly in Washington recently, the US-China contest in the South China Sea and Taiwan Straits, etc. The liberal rule-based-order is ending and replaced with an order based on size and power. Implying that this change is not good for the survival of small states like Singapore. He cited lessons from history where big powers decided the fate of smaller nations without telling them and the small nations only learnt later that their fate had been decided without any consultation: 1. 1824 Anglo-Dutch Treaty that decided if Singapore and Malaysia would come under Dutch or British rule 2. 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement – the secret treaty between the UK and France that decided how the Ottoman Empire would be partition which still affects the Middle-East today. 3. 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour and 2 months later the invasion of Singapore and Japanese occupation of Singapore for 3 years. Daily or weekly, you see headline grabbing change in world events, some historians likened the period we have now to the period before WW1 and asked if we are sleepwalking into an uncertain future and war. After WW1, 4 empires that had lasted for centuries were laid waste: 1. The Austro-Hungarian Empire: This empire dissolved into several independent nations, including Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and parts of what would become Yugoslavia. 2. The German Empire: The German monarchy was abolished, and Germany was forced to cede territories and accept harsh reparations under the Treaty of Versailles. 3. The Ottoman Empire: This empire was dismantled, leading to the creation of modern-day Turkey and the establishment of various mandates in the Middle East. 4. The Russian Empire: The Russian Revolution of 1917 led to the overthrow of the Tsarist regime and the eventual establishment of the Soviet Union. WW1 changed the map of the world – in terms of borders, alliances, ethnic groups and societies. Dr. Ng said that when he was at the Munich Security Conference, he could sense the consternation and dismay among the Europeans after US VP JD Vance’s speech that admonished them as war mongers and undemocratic. He quoted “NATO is in disarray”. That is Europe but what about us in Asia – that is the quintessential question. "What is installed for us here in Singapore?" The fate of Singapore and Singaporeans will be decided in the next 10 years. “All the headlines that you read – it is not business as usual; it is ground shaking and earth shattering. A political earthquake, with a Tsunami coming. We don’t know when the Tsunami will occur, we know that it registers on the political Richter scale” We cannot predict what is to come, but whatever outcome we must face it resolutely. As a small country Singapore cannot shape its environment and it must take the world as it is and not what we wished it to be. We must face the challenges as one nation with grit, perseverance, sacrifice and hard realism. We have survived in the past based on this hard realism; we must now do the same as we enter into uncharted waters. We have to plan our own defences and we can count on no one else to protect Singapore. The rest of the speech due with increase in defence spending by 12.4% vs last year, buying of 2 more AIP submarines from Germany (total will be 6), launch of new multi-role combat vessels (frigates), unmanned autonomous and drone system warfare, cyber defence and AI capabilities, etc. Watch the first part of his speech up to 10:10, after that it is about defense budget and procurement details. youtube.com/watch?v=TUg_yokH…