Mr Chan Chun Sing: Be a Defender and Not a Bystander in Keeping Singapore Strong

Minister for Defence Mr Chan Chun Sing delivering a speech at the Total Defence Awards (TDA) Dinner 2025.

Mr Chan (right) presenting the TD Advocate Award for Organisations to Mr Ernest Lee, Deputy Director (Operations) at The Singapore Association For The Deaf (left).

Senior Minister of State (SMS) for Defence Mr Zaqy Mohamad (right) presenting the TD Advocate Award for Companies (Large Companies) to Mr Elliot Ang, Senior Operations Manager of TDCX Pte Ltd (left).

MOS Goh (right) presenting the TD Advocate Award for Individuals to Ms Nabillah Jalal, Founder of NJ Studio and Co-Founder of Artusik and Artsee (left).

Minister for Defence Mr Chan Chun Sing was the Guest of Honour at the annual Total Defence Awards 2025 held at the Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel this evening. At tonight’s ceremony, 131 Total Defence (TD) Advocate Awards were presented to 61 Small and Medium Enterprises, 16 Large Companies, 34 Organisations and 20 Individuals. The TD Advocate Award is the highest accolade conferred on businesses, organisations and individuals in recognition of their exemplary support toward Total Defence.

Mr Chan underscored the importance of keeping Singapore secure and cohesive so that we can remain united and resilient amid an increasingly complex and uncertain security environment. He said, “Given that we are living in volatile times, it is important for us to reflect on where we are and the lessons that we can learn from the recent conflicts, in order for us to chart our way forward for the next lap for our own defence and security. A country that is divided, disunited, will be ripe for people to exploit our vulnerabilities… The challenge for us is, how do we maintain our unity so that we never fall prey to other people’s bad intentions? If we are not divided, it will be very difficult for people to want to do us harm.”

Mr Chan also expressed his appreciation to the Total Defence Advocates for their strong support in strengthening Singapore’s defence and resilience. He said, “Our defence and security is not something that we take for granted, and we certainly do not take for granted the public support for our defence and security. It is something that we will work conscientiously together on. I want to thank all of you for your contribution to our defence. Everyone counts, every bit counts… to take Singapore to a better place, and for us to continue to defy the odds of history to survive and thrive as a nation.”

Senior Minister of State for Defence Mr Zaqy Mohamad, Minister of State for Defence Mr Desmond Choo, and Minister of State, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Social and Family Development, Mr Goh Pei Ming were also present at the dinner.

More Resources

Opening Remarks By Minister For Defence Mr Chan Chun Sing At The Total Defence Awards Dinner On 6 November 2025