Singapore celebrated 40 years of National Service (NS), the compulsory conscription policy, on the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Day of July 1.

In his SAF Day interview with local media, Defense Minister Teo Chee Hean said that about 700,000 Singaporeans who had served NS helped maintain Singapore's independence and security.

According to local television Channel NewsAsia report, Teo said that when NS began, there was a sense of crisis as a young nation had to learn how to survive on its own, but now more Singaporeans understand the need for NS.

The defense minister said one of the most significant phases for the SAF is the current transformation into a third generation fighting force.

Teo said motivated and competent soldiers would be key in the SAF's transformation.

"The transformation of the SAF is a response to new threats, wider spectrum of threats we're facing. We're actually making use of our better educated servicemen to operate our equipment in a way that's not possible 40 years ago. Now the transformation can proceed smoothly," Teo was quoted as saying.

The NS policy started from 1967, requiring all male Singaporean citizens and second-generation permanent residents upon reaching the age of 18 to serve a two-year period as Full Time National Servicemen in the SAF, Singapore Police Force (SPF), or the Singapore Civil Defense Force (SCDF).

Source: Xinhua