Timely emphasis on cybersecurity as a new pillar of total defence

IT is a reflection of the uncertain global environment that Singapore's 2019 Budget has allocated 30 per cent of expenditure to defence, security and diplomacy. A significant portion of this allocation will go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as diplomacy still remains the best tool for resolving conflicts.

However, soft diplomatic power needs to be backed by hard defence infrastructure. As Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat observed during his budget speech: "Should diplomacy fail, we must stand ready to safeguard our interests and defend ourselves."

While the Singapore Armed Forces will remain the bulwark for the defence of the nation, the direct reference to the important role that the Cyber Security Agency will play, as digital defence becomes the sixth pillar of Total Defence, underlines the new reality today - that cyberspace has now become another potential theatre of war, along with land, sea and air.