Speech by Minister For Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen at The Total Defence Awards Ceremony at Fairmont Hotel on 10 November 2022

Parliamentary colleagues,

Permanent Secretaries,

Chief of Defence Force,

Co-chairpersons of ACCORD, Mr Lam Yi Young and Ms Trina Liang,

Award Recipients,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

INTRODUCTION

All of us here are very happy to be able to meet physically this year for Total Defence Awards ceremony. After intensely battling the COVID-19 pandemic for the last two years, with all its up and downs, getting back to normal provides that well deserved elation and satisfaction. But apart from that, I have also noticed a change in the mood, now that we have resumed many of our MINDEF/SAF functions. Casual conversations at these functions and dinners have turned serious, about the state of regional and world affairs. It is not just curiosity but at times apprehension about the risk of conflicts, even wars, in Asia. I seldom get asked previously, what do you think about the risks of a war in Asia. But people have asked me today and across many functions, they are asking seriously. Understandably, individuals are concerned about what our future portends.

Take for example this year's Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD). We did not hold it for two years and we resumed after a hiatus, SLD22 received greater global attention with more than 1,600 local and international reports. I was surprised that many Singaporeans expressed that they too were also watching intently even viewing live streams of sessions over the weekend, – something which we have not seen on that scale previously, especially of key principals such as United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, or Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense General Wei Fenghe, and President Zelensky. The concern on regional and global security by both Singaporeans and the world at large is appropriate.

Indeed, all of us here recognise that coming out of the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World has changed on us, and not just due to the virus. The war between Russia and Ukraine has changed Europe irrevocably. Gone are thoughts let alone talk of integration between Russia and the rest of Europe. The impact of that war is global, but not least supply chain disruptions or inflationary pressures. Relations between the US and China are at its worst since the last Cold War, and not likely to improve anytime soon. For those of you who have been following President Biden's recent National Security Strategy paper and President Xi's speech at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China have entrenched further this strategic rivalry. The question now then becomes not if but when that rivalry escalates to affect existing state-to-state relationships or the global commons.

TOTAL DEFENCE IN UNCERTAIN TIMES

These security uncertainties and challenges have made Total Defence even more relevant today. Some of you who are in business will know this parlance that a good concept stands the test of time, and I think Total Defence has proven it. Total Defence was introduced in 1984, so for those of you who can remember, in 1984 there wasn't much going on, and that's the best time to introduce a concept, when you least need it. But since then it has helped Singapore weather SARS in 2003, the Global Financial Crisis in 2008, and of course the recent fight against COVID-19. What Ukraine has also taught the World, because I remind everybody, not many gave them a fighting chance at the start of the Russian invasion. I attended this conference called the Lennart Meri, it's a conference hosted by the Baltic States, and one speaker, the Prime Minister of a country we shall not name here, said candidly, we are only sitting here discussing about the Russian-Ukraine situation because Ukraine held on. That was the only reason and what they have taught us, among many lessons, is that the strength of a people's Total Defence is the most crucial factor between subjugation and independence and and subjugation. So when the Japanese invaded Singapore there was no defence, it was over even before it began. Subject yourself to another authority, live with the atrocities, that is the price of negligence of total defence.

We cannot know yet the final outcome of the invasion of Ukraine – it is too early to tell. But of this we are certain: that there will be many stories of how the solidarity of a people, willing to fight with their lives held a much larger and supposedly fearsome military at bay. And we are learning many lessons. We look at this Ukraine-Russian situation, and challenge our assumptions. How intelligence is collected, how the whole concept of air warfare is tested, how a people can be so resilient under so much pressure and facing such a much larger military.

But we also recognise that no country builds such a solidarity and resilience overnight or even within a short time. And as much as we see the Ukrainians holding on, it takes deliberate effort and hard work. So when I asked some experts – we get visitors, we ask them, those who are closer to the theatre, the Europeans and the Americans, why is it that the air situation didn't go as what the Russians thought, what was this concept so on. But one of the questions I asked them, some of these experts, was why Ukraine did not experience the fall from the much anticipated cyber-attacks. And one of the answers was that they had been preparing themselves this past decade. Prior to 2014, Ukraine faced a series of computer attacks which culminated during the elections of that year. Chastened by these episodes, the Ukraine authorities worked with other countries and corporates to strengthen their cyber resilience.

We ought to take heart in these positive examples because they are positive for a small country like us, because they affirm that what we're doing tonight, our annual Total Defence efforts are worth doing and more. Sometimes in the midst of the routine, the repetitive situation, we think another function, another year, but it tells us that preparation is crucial. Our six pillars of military, social, civil, psychological, economic and digital defence have indeed strengthened over the years. Just take what happened during the pandemic. We look back over the last two and a half years, individuals and groups, many spontaneously, distributed essential items, providing emotional support we did this through community hotlines, and caring for seniors who were staying alone. And this was a ground up initative. Yes, there were organisations encouraging people to do it, but many of these groups formed on their own. So our social and civil defence pillars held. This was in contrast to what you read in other reports about what's happening in other countries, where each was fending for himself or breaking the rules and making it worse. So too our economic resilience. When supply disruptions threatened the flow of basic and essential items, and we recognise how vulnerable they are because we import most of our food. Thousands of trucks a day, ships that come to our port, to give us our food from the sea, from our neighbours. But MTI and EDB worked with private companies and keep  supply chains intact. That's actually a lot. We take a lot for granted, but that we didn't face any severe disruption for a country that imports nearly 90% of its foodstuffs and other essentials. We don't have a Qatari C17 for transport through air when our supply chain lines are disrupted. And they work very hard because there are thousands of trucks, we have to make sure that the truck drivers weren't spreading disease because they were spreading goods. And they pay very close attention. It is only possible because we worked with companies. Local businesses stepped in to join the fight against COVID-19 too. For example, RACER Technology directed their manufacturing line towards producing masks, test kits, swab kits and face shields during the pandemic. Behind the scenes, there was a scramble for raw materials for the masks. And then thankfully Ukraine wasn't affected yet, some of the raw materials only came from Ukraine. We had to strategically source to make sure that you don't use very much.

What about psychological defence? Without a strong psychological defence, that notion that I am responsible to my neighbours, to my family, and that I must play my part; if not Singapore would have faced non-compliance with safe management measures. Nobody likes restrictions. But all in all,there is a very low level of negligence, or outright contravention. Instead our people remained calm, acted responsibly and adapted to the various COVID-19 restrictions over the last two years.

Despite COVID-19 restrictions, the SAF and Home Team adapted quickly to continue with their training and operations. Training schools remained intact with no severe outbreaks of COVID-19. The SAF and Home Team were in the thick of action helping other civilian agencies deal with the pandemic. Many were NS men who went beyond the call of duty and showed that our military pillar is strong.

Total Defence is especially necessary today because in our inter-connected World, what affects one domain quickly spills into another, including the physical and virtual Worlds. I don't think anyone here needs convincing about the power of misinformation on the net. During my meet-the-people sessions, I see residents who have been victims of online scams. In this fight against COVID-19, there were many examples of misinformation campaigns that have confused people and some countries hampered their vaccination programs and it resulted in higher deaths. So it is not trivial and is not inconsequential. Digital defence is a new pillar to Total Defence but already civilians are taking action on their own. For instance, as falsehoods and rumours spread during the pandemic, NTU undergraduates created groups on Whatsapp and Facebook to teach Singaporeans, especially older ones how to fact check news and debunk false information.

The bulk of these are isolated events, but hostile information campaigns can also target entire cities or countries, as an on-going campaign or a prelude to outright physical aggression. The SAF's newly inaugurated Digital and Intelligence Service, or DIS in short, will thus play a pivotal role in bolstering our capabilities and defences for the digital pillar.

All these positive examples reinforce the value of Total Defence, which has proven itself as a crucial enabler for Singapore to weather and overcome difficult challenges. Very rarely do you have a global challenge affecting all countries, and they provided a very good instance to look at different systems across the world, how they reacted in total defence and of course academics and analyst did that and decided to rank countries on how well they did. They asked what were the crucial factors which decided why some countries did better. And guess what the most factor was; the most important factor sounds silly when I talk about it. The most important is trust. Trust in the people and trust in the government; and the trust between people and the government. Trust is an intangible quality but without it, the effects are intangibly disastrous. In real life, all six pillars of Total Defence are connected and must work in tandem and reinforce each other to safeguard Singapore's peace and stability.

CONCLUSION

The importance of Total Defence can only grow as we enter into an uncertain and unpredictable future. Total Defence is our anchor that will keep Singapore safely moored when the going gets rough. And I tell you that the going will get rough. This is the decade or two decades of growth in uncertainty and all the factors are colluding against peace and stability and we will be lucky if there is continued growth. We must tend to all pillars, ensure that each is sound. That way, our solidarity is ensured, and our chances of survival in an increasingly troubled World assured.

Once again, my heartfelt congratulations to all 170 award recipients. Thank you for your commitment towards Total Defence and enjoy the night.

More Resources

Total Defence Crucial for Singapore to Weather and Overcome Difficult Challenges: Dr Ng Eng Hen