Singapore is preparing its defenses for war, but not for a military conflict.
“These are life and death matters,” proclaimed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in August 2019 during his annual National Day Rally speech. Climate threats, he said, should be treated with “utmost seriousness” and “like we treat the Singapore Armed Forces.” Such alarm comes due to Singapore’s geography; as the country is especially vulnerable to rising sea levels, it faces an immediate threat posed by climate change.
