Guardian of the

Sea

Regional developments - what's happening in our backyard?

War is an act of force
to compel our enemy to do our will.

Politics : The study of political action.

Some may ask "Since this is a site dedicated to the RSN, why is there a page on regional developments?  How is the RSN related to events beyond our shores?"  Well, as an international affairs enthusiast, my aim is not so much to dwell in politics or political theories (I leave that to the politicians and academics), rather I intend to illustrate how politics influences military affairs.  As Carl Von Clauswitz puts it so eloquently: war is a continuation of politics by other means.

While we are not at war nor do we harbour such intentions, the RSN and its brothers and sisters in the Army and the RSAF are in the business of preventing and waging one.  The very need to avoid war drives the reason why Singapore needs to maintain such a potent and deadly armed forces.  Singapore's armed forces serve as a deterence and should that fail, we must also be able to ensure a swift and decisive victory over our aggressors.

However, the need to maintain an effective force has its costs.   During the recent economic downturn, it goes without saying that Singapore was adversely affected, but we have proven that even such circumstances will not hinder our defence needs.  We were the only South East Asian country that could afford to maintain our defence budget while others around us were forced to cut back.  Thus, economically, we have proven that we can afford the budgetry cost of defence.

However, on the political front, our neighbours have been less than receptive to our defence needs.  Take for example Indonesia's latest reaction to the arrival of our subs.  President Abdurrahman Wahid recently warned us that our subs will have to face their navy if we strayed into their waters.  While his warning seems logical and straightforward, the tone with which he made the statement was less than friendly and bordered on the ominous:

"I call on those responsible for defending the seas to seriously monitor the lanes in which we have permitted the Singaporean submarines to pass" and "if they go out of the lanes we should take stern action straight away."

Is this the tone we want to hear from a supposedly friendly neighbour who once called  us "that unfriendly little red dot"?  I am sure some of the surfers out there will not fail to see the irony in Wahid's words; one wonders who is being the unfriendly one.  We had already sought their permission and gotten the 'green light' earlier, so what's the deal about?

And while one questions the rationale behind such a statement, it is not made clear what prompted the "friendly" warning other than Wahid's concern over unconfirmed reports that Singapore has bought 2 more new submarines and is going to increase its fleet to six or eight.  Hmmm... I wonder if our Sjoormen subs make Indonesia uneasy?  And if our so-called vintage subs are enough to make them sweat, can you imagine how far back their technologically-wanting armed forces are?   By the way, Indonesia only has 2 out-dated and poorly maintained submarines to cover nearly 8 million Sq Km of water that links its 17000+ islands

On the other hand, even a realist would logically conclude that, going by the established relationship we have with the Indons, it is more likely that any disputes will first be looked into by the respective diplomatic corps of both countries rather than resorting to the use of armed force.  So what then is Wahid's agenda for such a statement?

I believe that in order to appear as a strong and competent leader, Wahid is simply presenting a loud front.  In effect, it distracts the general population from the country's own internal problems.  For example during a conference, the Indonesian leader told his audience that Indonesia has "to be daring in taking firm measures because only with firmness can" their "territorial unity be respected".  This is in line with his shift in the focus of Indonesia's military from internal security to territorial defence ever since being elected last October.  This political tactic of diverting attention from internal issues by playing up external matters is not only risky, it also hardly reflects well of a country to act so irresponsibly.

Do drop by again next week for a look into the latest with Malaysia.