Quora Answer: Will Singapore Invade West Malaysia in the Future?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “Will Singapore invade, and occupy, West Malaysia in the future to stay relevant?”

What has occupying Malaysia got to do with staying relevant?  War is seldom the economically viable option.  Militarily, Singapore would likely win every battle because it has a vastly superior military.  And then we will proceed to lose the war because occupation would sap all our resources, and resistance would kill more people than the battles themselves.

Such an act of aggression would isolate us internationally, dissipate any political goodwill, disintegrate ASEAN, and cost us a major trading partner.  Additionally, many Singaporeans have friends and family across the border.  That means we can discount this being a national unity exercise.  This would likely lead to the collapse of the government, and punitive international sanctions.  We are a trade hub.  Without trade, this country will swiftly decline.

The continued growth and development of the region is a good thing.  When Malaysia prospers, we prosper.  We have a larger, wealthier market for our goods and services, we can take advantage of their hinterland by restructuring our financial services and economic expertise to invest in them, and work towards closer economic cooperation.  That is how we stay relevant.