Scope of each country's defence no longer so neatly defined: Chan Chun Sing

New challenges also open up opportunities for Singapore to work with more partners

- Wong Pei Ting

Technological and geopolitical changes in the world have intensified security challenges and prompted countries to redefine how they think of their defence in three crucial ways, said Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing.

While this means the business of security has become more complex, it also opens up new opportunities for Singapore to work with more partners, Mr Chan told reporters on May 31.

Speaking to the media after he hosted visiting ministers and representatives in a closed-door ministerial roundtable discussion, Mr Chan said a key topic of discussion was how "defence and security can no longer be cut up so neatly based on geography, as per the past".

Instead, there was a strong sense that a geographic concept of security has become inadequate, with European ministers talking about their security being intertwined with that of the Asia-Pacific, and vice versa.

A more networked world and greater awareness of threats from the information and cyber domains have also prompted new conversations about securing critical infrastructure, such as underwater cables that link nations to the internet, said Mr Chan.

And while defence ministers used to be more concerned about kinetic warfare—the deployment of armed forces in combat—they are today equally concerned about the security and resilience of their supply chains and economies, he added.