From: u907736@postoffice.utas.edu.au (Edmund Chia)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.asean
Subject: Defense of S'pore; was about F16 & Mig29
Date: 15 Sep 92 02:05:49 GMT
Organization: University of Tasmania

In article <1992Sep14.175457.16551@news.ysu.edu>, af620@yfn.ysu.edu (Andrew Tan) writes:
> 
> 
> In a previous article, engp1186@nuscc.nus.sg (Won-Soon Lau) says:
> 
> >Andrew Tan (af620@yfn.ysu.edu) wrote:
> >: 
> >: The above article just goes to prove how "KIA-SU" Singaporeans are. Tis
> >: funny how Singaporeans have this phobia of being attacked while Malaysians
> >: could care less about doing so. Oi..wake up and smell the teh-o, lahh!!
> >: If y'all get too naughty, we'll just raise the Causeway, and y'all
> >: might just end up neighbours with New Zealand. Kiwipore? Naahhh...  ;)

(stuff deleted)

> And I say that y'all are still living in the generation of yesteryears.
> Please, the situation then and now is completely different. Malaysia has
> more to lose than gain by attacking Singapore today. Do you really think
> we'll bomb the hell outta Orchard Road when our relatives might happen to be
> shopping nearby? Sheeshhh...

(stuff deleted)

> What I and us, Malaysians, can't be bothered about is attacking Singapore.
> Read my lips!!! What has my being in America got to do with anything? I'm
> reiterating the fact that people in Malaysia could not care less and y'all
> are "kia-su" to death! Besides, talking about the security embrace of
> America, isn't that why y'all have Big Brother put a base there?
> So what else are y'all so touchy about?
> 
> I just get so irked when people like you bad-mouth Malaysia like we're
> some hostile country who's trying to attack another country. We're
> peace loving and teh-o loving kinda people, lah...just more relaxed
> and less "kia-su".

(stuff deleted)

Andrew has got it half right. I don't believe that Singapore is in danger
from Malaysia. Nevertheless, could anyone, including Andrew give a guarantee
that Singapore will NEVER be in danger from Malaysia. Take Singaporean-Indonesian
relations for example, 27 years ago, we had our own 'cold war' in the confrontasi.
At that time, we had Malaysia, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand backing us, else
we might have been just another island among the 13,000+ that is Indonesian. Who's 
to say that 27 years from now, relations between Singapore and Malaysia wouldn't 
change. Or Malaysia itself might change - an internal conflict within Malaysia and 
among Malaysians could spread to and threaten Singapore. Afterall, as Andrew has 
pointed out many of us have relatives on both sides of the border.

The point to note is that were Singapore ever to be invaded, it would have to be
by Indonesia and Malaysia OR through Indonesia and Malaysia. Singapore's close
relations with both Malaysia and Indonesia is a tacit recognition of this fact.
IMHO, Singapore's armed forces(land, sea and air) has two roles. One is to make
it costly in lives and military equipment to invade Singapore - to serve as a
deterrent. Even, if we do eventually fall to an enemy which is too strong, at 
least we were not taken cheaply. The second role is to 'assist' either Malaysia
or Indonesia to withstand an agressor from 'outside' the region, e.g. Vietnam,
China & Japan were such threats in the past. Afterall, any threat to Malaysia 
or Indonesia is likey to be a threat to Singapore too. Nor would it be proper
to let our neighbours bear the burden of our defense without contributing our
own strength to the effort.

Finally, a thought on all the talk on Migs and F16s. Has anyone considered the fact
that if an enemy aircraft reaches the island, shooting it down might cause as much
damage to the city as a bomb. Consider the effect if our air-force shot down 10
planes over Toa Payoh and that the enemy pilots tried to be considerate and attempted
to crash on empty spaces. IMHO, any air defense of Singapore has to be at sea or over
Malaysian/Indonesian air-space.

Edmund
Newsgroups: soc.culture.asean