Singapore Armed Forces - Defence Policy

Defence Policy

Deterrence and diplomacy have been the fundamental tenets of Singapore's military defence policy. Through the years, the military has developed extensive links with armed forces from other countries. In recent years, there has also been an increased emphasis on international peace-keeping and relief operations, notably the peace-keeping operations in East Timor and the Persian Gulf and disaster relief in the Indian Ocean earthquake-tsunami of 2004, 2005 Nias earthquake and 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake in Central Java, Indonesia.

According to military and strategic analysts, such as Tim Huxley in Defending the Lion City, Singapore is known to be using a forward-defence military doctrine. Press statements from Singapore's Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) describe the SAF as a deterrent force. The SAF's declared mission statement is to "enhance Singapore’s peace and security through deterrence and diplomacy, and should these fail, to secure a swift and decisive victory over the aggressor". Today, a career military force of 38,700 is supplemented by 42,800 men on active National Service duty. The main force actually comprises 400,000 or so Operationally-Ready National Servicemen (ORNSmen).

The SAF's policy towards Malays, who share religion and ethnic ties with Singapore's largest neighbours, Malaysia and Indonesia, has been a source of controversy over the years. Malays were virtually excluded from conscription from the beginning of the draft in 1967 until 1977 and, after the policy was eased, were assigned mainly to serve in the police and civil defence (fire brigade), not active combat roles. In 1987, Lee Hsien Loong (then Second Minister for Defence) stated that "If there is a conflict, if the SAF is called to defend the homeland, we do not want to put any of our soldiers in a difficult position where his emotions for the nation may be in conflict with his religion" and in The Roar of the Lion City (2007), military analyst Sean Walsh claimed that "official discrimination against the Malay population remains an open secret". The Ministry of Defence contests the charge, noting that there are "Malay pilots, commandos and air defence personnel" and stating that "the proportion of eligible Malays selected for specialist and officer training is similar to the proportion for eligible non-Malays."

Women are exempt from National Service, but have served in both combat and non-combat roles, some as combat officers, but mostly in clerical and logistic positions in the earlier years. The range of positions available to women has been expanded gradually, but is still limited. In July 2007, the SAF launched an exhibition highlighting the contributions of women in the armed forces.