Russia’s annexing of Crimea shows small nations cannot depend on others for defence

News around the world in the last few years show that it can be a very dangerous place for small countries like Singapore. The recent one closer to home, regarding the dispute with Malaysia over maritime rights and airspace, is another good example.

Survival of small states are not guaranteed and it has to be earned and fought for continuously. A strong military force is necessary to defend and maintain our sovereignty.

There has been an outpouring of support for our armed forces from Singaporeans and this shows that our people understand the gravity of the issue.

Just four years ago, in March 2014, Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine, and the European Union described the move as "a gross violation of international law and of the territorial integrity of Ukraine”.

Two decades before this, Ukraine had signed a treaty with the United States, Russia and Britain to give up the nuclear weapons that it inherited as an independent country following the breakup of the Soviet Union. In exchange, the US and Russia were to refrain from the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine.

However, the treaty did not prevent Russia from using force against Ukraine later. The western powers did nothing to stop Russia from annexing Crimea. They only imposed sanctions but no military force is used against Russia for violating Ukraine’s sovereignty.

This set a bad precedent and has consequences for small powers like Singapore.

Singapore depends heavily on international treaties and rule of law to defend its interests in the global community. But it appears that treaties can be signed and then be ignored by big powers at their convenience.

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues to this day, and despite the Ukrainian president calling on the West for help, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Ukraine to be sensible in its request.

This shows that a small nation cannot rely on others to defend itself.

Singapore publicly condemned the port incursion by Malaysia and has actively sent ships into the water off Tuas to keep watch on the situation.

Without a strong armed forces, we will not have been able to stand up for ourselves, to protect our country and way of life.