16 May 2012

Interpreting Recent Millitary Modernizations in Southeast Asia

Cause for Alarm or Business as Usual?

Royal Thai and U.S. Navy sailors aboard two special operations craft-riverines

While Southeast Asia has clearly seen a spate of significant military modernization efforts in recent years, this article argues that a potentially destabilizing arms race is not under way. Instead, a more accurate conclusion is that recent force modernization programs in the region are part of an ongoing and expected process that ensures the relevance and effectiveness of each state's conventional deterrence. In other words, these are "stability-inducing" modernizations that improve defenses without becoming a threat to neighbors. The article also argues that Singapore's bid to create the "Third Generation Singapore Armed Forces (SAF)" is no exception to this.

© 2012 Government of Singapore. Republished with Permission

Share this: