Post 3 of 3: Reactions to Russia’s ongoing escalation towards Ukraine
11. I do not believe in handing out weapons to civilians without the requirement for proper military training (at least 9 weeks of basic training) — let’s see if Ukraine can keep fighting longer than 30 days. When I see photos of elderly Ukrainian men or women taking up arms, it does not present to me as credible. My son is an infantry officer (who completed 22 months of National Service), who went to OCS for 38 weeks after 9 weeks of BMT. He has up to 40 days of reserve service obligations each year, and is currently studying in a local university. Some years ago, there was a feature story of a Ukrainian who completed the same 38 week OCS and took up Singapore citizenship.
12. Unlike the stance taken by Vietnam’s MOFA, there are several similarities Singaporeans share with Ukrainians. One is a desire for peaceful co-existence with others despite differences. Two, we are similarity independent, and resilient. This is a streak Singaporeans share with Ukrainians — which is why Singapore’s MFA put out a strong statement in support of Ukraine. Likewise, Indonesia has issued a weaker statement of support for Ukraine too. But I note that both Malaysia and Indonesia do not condemn Russian aggression directly. Nor will they impose sanctions on Russia.
13. Moldova has announced it was closing its airspace because of the war in neighboring Ukraine, shortly after President Maia Sandu said Chisinau would introduce a state of emergency and was ready to accept tens of thousands of people fleeing Ukraine after the Russian attack.
14. China's embassy in Kyiv told its citizens in Ukraine to stay home or at least take the precaution of displaying a Chinese flag on their vehicles. In unconfirmed latest news, China’s embassy in Ukraine said China was preparing to evacuate the some 6,000 Chinese nationals in Ukraine by chartered flights in batches.
By the way, are there a chance that the West will convict Putin for war crimes (even without any consequences for him)?
15. Very low chance of convicting Putin of war crimes, as Russia is a permanent member of the UNSC. In a 2015 lecture, Singapore’s Ambassador-at-large Tommy Koh said that while Singapore believes international law is a “sword and shield” for protecting and advancing our interests, this is not based on blind faith. As a Singaporean, I think that Taiwan made a mistake by shortening National Service a few years ago without substantial investments in defence. Thanks to this policy change, Taiwanese Army units are chronically short of staff and troops.
(a) In words that are remarkably prescient, Prof. Tommy Koh said: “We know that the international rule of law is weak and cannot deter an aggressive big power, such as Russia, from using its superior military force to secure its strategic objectives. We accept the reality that when there is a collision between law and military power, the latter usually prevails. At least, in the short-term.”
(b) That being the case, Prof Koh went on to add, Singapore’s first principle in foreign policy is to continue to be strong, economically and militarily, to defend our interests. Singapore's defence minister Dr. Ng Eng Hen also said it was hard to "reconcile the aggression" by Russia after it attacked Ukraine, signalling an end” to years of relative peace. Sharing on Facebook on 24 Feb 2022, Ng said that cities within Ukraine had turned into "war zones" overnight.
(c) Though rare, one hears arguments that Singapore should rethink the length of
National Service (22 months) — most Singaporeans agree that Taiwan made a mistake by shortening National Service to 4 months. As Mr Putin has shown this week, such sentiments can be dangerous. Military power will continue to to be used by the strong to attain political goals. Conventional military power is not a thing of the past.
