[frenchieinsg]

The big difference between Singapore and Israel is motivation. Israelis will probably stay and fight to the death (in fact, they have, during the Yom Kippur war, where Golda Meir forced the US to act by arming nuclear weapons). Ask a Singaporean, particularly if middle class or wealthier, what he'd do if the PLA turned up in large numbers to conquer the territory. Most will admit they'll take the next flight to Australia or the US, although they're happy to fight battles they're willing to win (such as the historical skirmishes with Indonesia, who is happy to stir up fires every so often for political gains).

This is a non trivial point, since if you reside in Singapore, you're basically betting that the only threat the place will face (if not covered by Pax Americana, which is not a given for the next 30 years, as Singaporeans know since their country was effectively founded following events started by the British retiring warships 2 years early to pay for welfare housing; and since when Japan invaded, the Brits ran and it was the locals who took up guns and tried to defend their homes) is the comparatively easy to fight one from the north and south, against which SAF is large and well trained enough to provide a great deterrent. And as Singaporeans will say, those won't attack anyway since all of their politicians have stashed their money here.