Editorial

This issue, as the cover suggests, is dedicated to the Top 10 essays in the 1997 CDF Essay Competition. The Essays, once again, cover a wide range of topics, including technology, srategic studies, strategy and military history.

LTC Lim Seng Hock wins the First Prize for his essay Revolution in Military Affairs and Command, Control, Communications and Computers (C4): Are We Ready? The author argues that the SAF needs to focus on C4 as the key to operating successfully in a digitised battlefield. The Second Prize is awarded to CPT Benedict Ang Kheng Leong for his essay Indonesian Foreign Policy: Change and Continuity Amidst a Changing Environment. The author suggests that a reassertive Indonesia is not necessarily a threat as perceived by some countries in the region. Five Power Defence Arrangements: A Singapore Perspective by CPT Ang Wee Han wins the Third Prize. The author contends that although the FPDA was formed in a world that was different from the present, it is still relevant today but for a slightly different purpose.

As for the Merit Award winners, we begin with MAJ Loganathan's essay Failure of Logistics in Operation Barbarossa and Its Relevance Today. The author suggests that the dismal failure of the German forces in the Russian campaign during World War Two was due to the lack of logistical support. MAJ Yao Shih En, in his article Professionalism - The Nucleus of Our Core Value System, is of the opinion that professionalism is the least understood but the most important among the SAF's seven core values.

The U.S. - Japan - China Triangle: Maintaining Peace and Security in a Troubled East Asia by CPT Yeo Heng Hwee explains the importance of the U.S. - Japan - China relationship in preserving the peace in East Asia. The Awakening Dragon by CPT Stephen Tan Boon Heng examines the rise of China in recent years both economically and military and its impact on the region. The People's Liberation Army: Civil - Military Relations in Reform China by CPT Kwek Ju-Hon examines the changing nature of civil and military relations in an era of reforms that has beset China since the 1980s.

CPT Lai Chung Han's article Operational Maneuver from the Sea - An Option Against Littoral Asymmetric Warfare describes the challenges posed by the littoral environment and the options available to deal with these threats. In the final article, LTA (NS) Wong Tze Yung examiens the morality and the controversy of the decisions of RAF Bomber Command in carrying out the action in his article The Morality of Area Bombing on Germany by Bomber Command During World War Two. He asks whether the carpet bombing carried out by the RAF Bomber Command on Germany during World War Two was justified.

POINTER would like to take this opportunity to thank the panel of judges, comprising COL Lim Kah Kee, COL Lim Ah Seng, COL Daniel Chan, LTC Bernard Tan, Dr Ang Cheng Guan and Dr Leonard Sebastian, for their time and effort in selecting the winning essays.

On a final note, POINTER would like to encourage all readers to participate in the 1998 CDF Essay Competition, which is now open.

POINTER Editorial Board