Is Singapore at war?

One Douglas Chua wrote to the ST forum on 10 Aug that we need to buy the anti missile iron dome system to protect the island from rocket attacks by terrorists from Batam? What about terrorists finding themselves in strategic locations across the causeway firing rockets at aircraft in and out of Changi or at any part of Singapore? In this kind of ground to air attacks against planes, the dome will be practically useless.

The terrorist warfare is affecting many western countries and our neighbours, like it or not, at war or not, we are at war without our choosing. There is no need to declare that we are at war in this kind of modern warfare that conventional weapons and armies are totally hapless. All the mean machines, the super expensive toys like F35s are only good for show. The tanks, the destroyers, submarines, fighter bombers and what else are but a misconnect, meaningless against a moving and solitary target that does not look like a target.  But we must buy more expensive weapons, the more expensive the better, dunno for what, against who, against what kind of enemies when we should be deploying more people and resources in a real war that can hit us any moment.

Of course we are also at another war, a conventional one, In Iraq or Syria, and in Afghanistan and dunno where in the Middle East. We may  not be sending our combatants to engage in direct warfare, but in supporting roles to protect our medical teams, and air to air refueling or operating drones for recce missions, the soldiers are in the theatre of war, in a war zone, can be killed. Singapore has been part of the American Coalition of the Willing in the American wars in the Middle East and Afghanistan. This is modern day League of Nations invasion of China in the 1890s.

Some bloggers were asking, does the govt need to discuss this and get Parliamentary approval, or even a referendum to go to war.  The question of are we at war is a denial of the reality. Can we really say that we are not at war when our soldiers are part of the American Coalition conducting warfare in the Middle East and Afghanistan?

Some may argue that we are not really at war. See, no casualties, and away from direct gunfire, maybe out of reach of enemy fire. And our boys and girls can always come back to have their char kway teow or chicken rice anytime in the comfort of our airconditioned restaurants and live life as normal.

How far do we have to go before announcing to the people that we are at war, engage in a war, and our soldier boys and girls are in the war zones? Up to what extent before there is a need to discuss this in Parliament and to tell the people that we are at war and since when were we at war?

Or would someone want to start another academic exercise to define what is at war and whether we are technically, literally, or legally at war?

Diary of Japanese Imperial Army Massacres in SE Asia

The Japanese continue to deny the massacre of hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians during the Rape of Nanking in 1937. With tomes of documents, photos and films on the barbaric and brutal killings of young and old, pregnant women, children, beheading  and bayoneting of babies, the Japanese denied, and still denying that it happened. It was not true, it was not like that, no such things, only a few hundreds were killed, the liars in Japan would protest. The Japanese can continue to lie, to deny the naked truth of the hideous war crimes they committed, the Chinese people would not forget, and so were many of the Koreans and Southeast Asian people. Oops, maybe many Southeast Asian people have forgotten, even forgiven the Japanese and even falling in love with the Japanese as very nice people, very honourable people, very civilised people, very trustworthy and peaceful people.

 

I will want to remind those that have forgotten, that the war crimes of the Japanese to the Southeast Asian people were all recorded in history. And in a documentary produced by Chris Nebe, he revisited the major massacres committed by the Japanese against the Southeast Asian people. No, not just in Singapore but in nearly every Southeast Asian country but the natives either chose to forget and forgive or through the ignorance of their own history, could not or did not want to remember.  In the Sook Ching Massacre inn Singapore alone, 90,000 civilians were massacred.  Our mobile phone young would not remember a thing except to play Pokemon. The Japanese have every reason to want to forget, to whitewash this part of their ugly past, but should the Southeast Asian people want to?

 

In 1942, in the Bataan Death March, thousands of the more than 80,000 Filipino and Australian prisoners of war died before they reached their destination. This was followed by the 1942 Laha Massacre in Timor of Australian and Dutch civilians, bayoneted and beheaded in cold blood by the Japanese. Then there was the Banka Island Massacre in Indonesia where Australian nurses were forced to wade into the sea and machine gun to their death. One survivor lived to tell the truth at the Tokyo War Crime Tribunal.

 

The then Malaya also had its massacre in Parit Sulong where hundreds of Indian and Australian prisoners of war were executed. In 1943, in the Pacific Wake Island Massacre, 98 Australian and Dutch civilians working as slave labourers were also executed by the Japanese. Philippines had more than its share of massacres in the 1943 Palawan Massacre and the Manila Massacre in 1945 where more than 100,000 civilians died and the city destroyed. And the Pinoys love the Japanese. In Burma there was the 1944 Kalagong Massacre.

 

Did anyone know of these massacres, remember them? These are only a few of the many massacres recorded in history and the many unknowns that were not reported. Not the Japanese, their history books were whitewashed from these crimes against humanity. What about the history books of the Philippines, of Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar? They don't seem to remember them either. No wonder they look to the Japanese as so civilised and polite people, not knowing their evil past. In Singapore, Sook Ching was like a bedside horror story minus the cruelties and the gore and bloodiness of the crime. More than 100,000 civilians were murdered in cold blood by the evil Japanese. Some young Singaporeans would be asking 'true or not, don't bluff leh'.

 

The Japanese may not want to remember them, may want the world to forget about their war crimes. Should the victims of the Japanese war crimes simply forget them and best, believe the Japanese are very nice people, very polite, very kind, very peaceful, very honourable people?

 

How can a people be honourable if they don't own up to their war crimes and barbarism? How to trust them when they are lying by the skin of their teeth?

 

The documentary by Chris Nebe is at: Diaoyu+Islands+-+The+Truth-HD.mp4

China starting to show displeasure with Singapore

Global Times, the unofficial spokeman of China, has published articles that criticized Singapore’s cosying up with the Americans and the lavish dinner that Obama hosted for Hsien Loong as a statement of Singapore’s support for the Americans particularly over the South China dispute. Singapore’s overt support of the American position is never in doubt by the numerous articles published in the local media and with comments from Singapore officials that irked China. And Hsien Loong’s comments at the White House dinner put squarely where Singapore stood in the dispute between China and the US.
 
The Global Times did acknowledge the difficult position of Singapore in a region that is not too friendly and could turn hostile to Singapore and Singapore’s interests and the need to play the American card. The military might of the Americans is sorely needed should the neighbours attempt to squeeze Singapore to put Singapore in its rightful place. China appreciates that but when Singapore leaned too close to the Americans and even overtly took positions that are explicitly anti China, it forces China’s hand.
 
The Global Times reminded Singapore that it could play a balancing role like in the past by being as neutral as possible. When Singapore started to take sides against China, Singapore would lose this value and strategic role as a balancer between the two superpowers. LKY was able to do what he did because of his ability to respect the interests of the two superpowers without being hostile to anyone. China opened its doors to LKY, giving him special access to China’s top leaders. LKY could share his understanding of Chinese leader’s thinking with the Americans and could advise the Americans because of this special privilege built over years of trust and confidence building.
 
When this trust is lost, when China perceived that Singapore is no longer trustworthy, but in the American camp, the door will be closed. Hsien Loong or other Singapore leaders will find themselves waiting outside the corridors of Chinese leaders taking cue numbers and waiting to be invited for an audience that would not come. When that day comes, Singapore would lose its usefulness to China and also to the Americans other than being a close military ally like the South Koreans, Japanese, the Philippines and the Vietnamese. The consequences of being relegated to a staunch American ally in the American pivot to Asia would not be in the long term interest of Singapore. Many doors would be closed and many economic deals would be left hanging in the air. The Chinese market would no longer be there, to be easily accessible.
 
This seems to be the warning coming out from the Global Times. Respect China’s interests and continue to play a strategic balancing role between the two super powers or be sidelined.
 
The warning to Singapore has been sounded. Whither Sino Singapore relations going forward are now in the hands of Singapore leaders. Would Singapore's media and officials continue to call China's friends as Trojan Horses in public forum to show where Singapore stood in the US China rivalry?

$150k pay check – Should feel sorry for him or not?

Cynical Investor wrote a piece appearing in the TRE quoting Gilbert’s post of an unemployed Singapore talent. Here is the quote:

‘Someone wrote to Gilbert Goh saying that he lost his 150k a year job to a FT prepared to accept 40% less. Losing my job was brutal for me financially since I am paying for 2 properties and a car.

I also have a S$100K unsecured loan debt which I took on to pay the deposit for my second home. My wife isn’t working and I have school going children. The first thing I did was to adjust my salary expectations up to 50%. Within 1 week I have applied to almost 500 jobs but none of them successful or called for an interview’.

Cynical Investor was asking whether we should feel sorry for him. Many in TRE were asking who did he vote for in the GE. Who do you think such successful, highly paid Singaporeans would vote for? Given their high income, good jobs, good pays, landed properties, cars, my guess is that they must be very comfortable with the system and would not want to have any change. To them the govt have done a marvelous job and giving them a Swiss standard lf living.

No need to ask or guess who they voted in the last GE. And many would continue to vote the same way until they hit a hard wall like this guy and came crawling to Gilbert to vent their frustration and desperation. But what can Gilbert do other than to lend them a listening year?

The few places they could hope to be helped in the job banks started by MOM or to go to NTUC for more skills upgrading so that they can become a waiter or something like that and be very grateful for being helped.

I bet many of these high earners would sneer and shrug it off as one bad luck case as they go about getting their fat pay, until they ended up in the same shit. Life is too good for the high earners that they would not think that this kind of things could happen to them.  Not to worry, it would be someone else, never ‘Me’.

How many PMETs must be grounded, driven to despair before the walking dead wake up and say no more? How, big earners, would you be next to write to Gilbert? For everyone that went crying to Gilbert there could be 10 that resigned to their fate, remaining jobless or underemployed. There would also be another 10 or 20 going to attend skills upgrading courses conducted by NTUC so that they could get a new job paying 10 or 20% of what they used to get.

Mind you, this is the career path for many high earning Singaporeans. It is only a matter of when will be their turn. 不见棺材不流泪

The 51st state of the USA?

The state visit by Hsien Loong to the USA and the warm reception given to him and his entourage is unbelieveable for a small state. The US put on a charm offensive to show how important and how close Singapore is to the Americans. Obama gave everything he got, no holds bar, to impress Hsien Loong and Singaporeans and the world that this is how being good to the USA would be rewarded.
 
From another perspective it was like a suitor putting on his best to win the heart of his bride to be, a proposal for a marriage. Was Obama wooing Singapore into the final embrace of the USA? Singapore is very important to the Americans in many ways and has been responding very positively to all the overtures put up by the Americans, a sign that things can be better. Just ask and Singapore will go along, like a willing lass very happy to be charmed and taken for a ride in a courtship.
 
The days when Singapore played hard to get, played tough, are over. Today the relationship has blossomed and a wedding is on the card, if the Americans are serious wanting the relationship to move to a higher level. And the bride will come with all the strategic assets that the Americans would love to have, better than the strategic location of Israel in the Middle East. Singapore is in the heart of SE Asia and a very important point in Asia. The pivot to Asia would not be complete without Singapore, cannot be effective without Singapore.
 
Now, did he propose? Did Obama make his move during this state visit, to ask for the hand of Singapore, as the 51st state of the United States of America? Did he swipe the feet of the bride off the ground? And did she said yes?
 
It is not a bad idea that Singapore becomes the 51st state of the USA. And we would become the most powerful nation in the world, or a part of the most powerful nation in the world. And we will have a new flag and a new national anthem to sing and have a lot of things to be proud of, a lot of things to celebrate like all the gold medals in the Olympics and Fourth of July.
 
Singapore the 51st state of the USA? Possible, good? What do you think?