Singapore Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing said the nation must focus on doing "better things" rather than merely improving existing practices to maintain security.
This shift in strategy is critical as the nature of global conflict evolves. By prioritizing innovation over incremental improvement, the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) aims to avoid complacency and ensure resilience against emerging threats that could render current military doctrines obsolete.
Speaking Thursday, July 16, 2026 [1], at the Ministry of Defence IGNITE Innovation Symposium 2026, Chan said the military cannot rely on historical precedents to secure its future. He said the most dangerous assumption the government can make is that tomorrow's challenges will be the same as today or yesterday [2].
Chan said that the effectiveness of a military is not tied strictly to its budget. He said that what matters is not how much countries spend on defence, but how the money is used [3]. This approach suggests a move toward qualitative superiority and agility rather than simple procurement of more hardware.
The minister also highlighted the necessity of self-reliance in a volatile geopolitical climate. He said that Singapore's defence and security is not premised on others coming to our rescue [4]. This stance reinforces the national strategy of maintaining a potent, independent deterrent force capable of operating without external dependencies.
Throughout the symposium, the focus remained on the need for the SAF to sustain its edge. Chan said the military must cultivate a culture of innovation to stay ahead of adversaries who are also evolving their tactics and technologies [1].
“"The most dangerous assumption we can make is that tomorrow's challenges will be the same as today or yesterday."”
Chan's remarks signal a strategic pivot from traditional military scaling toward a 'smart' defence model. By emphasizing the quality of spending and the necessity of innovation over sheer volume, Singapore is acknowledging that technological disruption and asymmetrical warfare may outweigh traditional force size in future conflicts.
