I refer to the 30 Jan 2016 Straits Times letter "Don't underestimate need for strong military".
Mr Adrian Vianueva compared Singapore's unpreparedness during the Japanese invasion in World War II with the success by the British and Commonwealth in protecting Singapore during Konfrontasi and concluded that it was a strong military that made the difference.
Mr Vianueva is not comparing apple to apple. If the Japanese were to invade Singapore today, does Mr Vianueva think Singapore can successfully defend itself this time?
Global Fire Power 2016 ranks Japan 9th in global military power with a score of 0.3841. Singapore is ranked 26th with a score of 0.8587. Detailed comparison of firepower between the two countries can be found here http://www.globalfirepower.com/countries-comparison-detail.asp?form=form...
Thus, even today, Singapore continues to be much weaker than Japan militarily. Mr Vianueva's point about Singapore's defeat by the Japanese during WWII being the consequence of our military weakness must surely continue to apply today.
It is hypocritical to use our defeat by Japan during WWII to justify our high military spending today knowing that our high military spending today still doesn't allow us to defend ourselves against Japan.
Lin
A.S.S. Contributor
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