Yes, we have the most powerful air defence in SE Asia but what is very important for a tiny nation like us with a short coastline is that our SAF must ensure that enemy troops are not allowed to land at all. Mindef HQ for example is a mere 8 km from the shore ...
Top 3 developed nations by defence expenditure (%GDP):
1. USA 4.7% of GDP
2. Israel 6.3%
3. Singapore 4.3%
US is the world's only superpower. Israel is in the midst of war with neighbours who have called for its annihilation. Singapore?
Anyone who thinks that our astronomical defence budget is geared towards defending an indefensible outcrop of land with zilch natural resources should have his head examined.
It's time that Sinkies pulled their finger out from their collective buttholes and stopped drip-feeding on Pappy propaganda.
Myth: We need to build a powerful defence force with first-strike capability to deter the terrorist Malays around us from running amok and attacking this island.
Fact: Singapore is largely indefensible. Turn off the tap, cut off the food supply at the causeway and 2nd link, and we're toast without a single rocket being launched or a single marine landing on our beaches. The Pappies know that; you don't. They know there's no clear and present danger of any military conflict among our immediate neighbours given the tightly intertwined economies, vested interests and cross-ownership of assets; you don't.
Myth: We spend loads of money just so that we can build the most powerful force in S.E. Asia.
Fact: Balls. We spend loads of money just so that we can build an army that will never be independent but forever be beholden to the ruling party by rotating high-ranking officers and paper generals through fixed terms, paying them obscene salaries, and retiring them to cushy directorships in GLCs or to ministerial positions in the highest paid cabinet in the world. Just so that in a freak election, the tanks will roll in over our dead bodies. And old fart can sleep peacefully in his Istana mansion guarded by 3 shifts of Gurkhas round the clock. The Pappies know this; you don't.
Myth: A large portion of the $12.2 bil we spend a year goes to state-of-the-art equipment that enables us to maintain military superiority over our neighbours.
Fact: Lumpah. Most of our defence money goes into technology transfers from overseas OEM to our defence contractors like ST Eng (Temasek-owned) just so that we can make and customize more weapons and export them. Few know that S'pore is the world's 20th largest arms exporter. And where do the profits from this arms trade go? Into the pockets of the Lee family and the connected elite. The Pappies know this; you don't.
Myth: Defence spending is to make S'pore safe for Singaporeans from external threats.
Fact: Now old fart's balls are laffin'. Defence spending is to secure the the survival of the PAP regime and ensure the safety of the Lee family and their cronies.