Is National Service in Singapore outdated or still necessary?
After spending two years conscripted into Singapore’s army, I concluded my National Service (NS) term with an overwhelmingly positive perspective. Spending my formative years outside of Singapore made the ideas of being Singaporean and serving in its military seem foreign, so I viewed enlisting in NS as my opportunity to earn my citizenship and affirm my Singaporean identity. Perhaps wanting to make the best of my NS time inflated my appreciation for it. Nonetheless, my experience has undoubtedly affirmed my belief that the vital role NS plays in both Singapore’s defense and national unification far outweighs the economic costs that critics purport.
NS originated as Singapore’s national policy of conscription in 1967 after a split with Malaysia and a hasty withdrawal of colonial British forces left the small nation isolated with no guaranteed way of defending its sovereignty and national interests. Conceived and forged in an era of uncertainty, NS has allowed Singapore to nation-build and eventually prosper for over half a century. Now, in an unprecedented period of peace, critics of NS have become more vocal than ever in questioning its relevance. However, they fail to consider the continued significance of NS in supporting Singapore’s national defense policy and fostering its national identity.
The combination of deterrence and diplomacy—discouraging threats through defense capabilities and developing friendly relations with foreign states—forms the fundamental principles of Singapore’s defense policy. Its successful implementation depends on the capacity of power that NS asserts by maintaining a substantial military force. NS requires all able-bodied male citizens and permanent residents of Singapore to serve a two-year term of active service upon reaching 18 years of age, with additional reserve obligations up to age 50. This allows Singapore to boast an active force of approximately 72,000, roughly 40,000 of which are conscripts, and a reserve force of over 350,000 in the event of a national emergency or full-scale war. Singapore’s military credibility allows its sovereignty to be acknowledged and respected, giving it power in both deterrent and diplomatic interactions. Essentially, the success of Singapore’s defense policy is contingent upon the military power that NS provides.
Beyond defense, the egalitarian nature of conscription fosters Singaporean national identity by uniting citizens with various ethnic, cultural, and class differences under the common goal of national security. At the time of NS’s conception, Singapore was a nation of diverse migrant groups that lacked strong commonalities. NS served as the solution to that problem. Its success is exemplified in an uptick of conscripts going beyond their call of duty and voluntarily extending their service past the required two year term. More than 350 conscripts extended their term of service in 2010, demonstrating NS’s influence in motivating Singaporeans to work together towards common national interests.
Critics of NS point to the financial burden imposed on those conscripted and on the Singaporean state, alleging that the system drives down competition in a modern job market, as having NS obligations may depreciate prospective employees’ attractiveness to employers. However, anti-discriminatory legislation against employers set out in the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices already helps to protect conscripts from lower wages. Others suggest a smaller, all-volunteer force as a cheaper alternative to maintaining an active conscript and reserve force. But comparative cost analyses illustrate that, assuming a 30 percent reduction in manpower, an all-volunteer force would actually be more expensive. If anything, the presence of NS has strengthened Singapore’s economy, as the promise of security provides the stability required for economic development.
Today, an increasingly diverse Singapore still faces foreign challenges to its sovereignty. NS continues to play a hand in both ensuring the nation’s geopolitical security and bolstering its internal nation-building objectives of unity and economic growth. It remains, therefore, that NS is, as it was at its conception, relevant and necessary for Singapore to thrive today and in the future.