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Wee Kek Koon

I have always been a worrier. For as long as I can remember, I have fretted over every conceivable disaster. Will that approaching car run me down because its driver neglected to fix its brakes? Will my apartment block collapse while I sleep? Will the latest war bring about the end of the world as we know it?
It is not debilitating – these thoughts come and go in brief, sporadic flashes – but more than one therapist has suggested that I have a tendency to catastrophise.
Their advice is familiar: live in the moment. Worrying changes nothing.
Really?
In a recent interview, Singapore’s foreign affairs minister, Vivian Balakrishnan, observed that the global landscape is shifting in ways that feel deeper and more structural than the usual ebb and flow of international politics.
The post-World War II order, he noted, with its rules and multilateral habits that provided a dependable backdrop to global trade and security for 80 years, has come to an end, giving way to what he described as a “geostrategic tectonic plate rupture”.
For a small, open country such as Singapore, such tremors cannot be ignored. Its government’s response, Balakrishnan said, would be to engage all major powers constructively; widen networks among middle powers; strengthen a stable and integrated Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean); deepen ties with immediate neighbours; and reinforce a rules-based international architecture.
Beneath these policy prescriptions lies something more elemental to the city state’s outlook: vigilance.
If vulnerability explains why Singapore has always been cautious, vigilance explains why it seldom relaxes entirely. It is the quiet discipline of asking, even in comfortable times, “What if?” What if supply chains fracture? What if rivalry spirals between great powers? What if assumptions once taken for granted cease to hold?
That ingrained habit has translated into action. For decades, Singapore has spent between 3 and 6 per cent of its gross domestic product on defence. It has diversified economic links before crises materialise, kept a watchful eye on geopolitical shifts, and engaged the world actively rather than passively awaiting events.
Some would dismiss such vigilance as excessive, even neurotic. Yet history – ancient and recent – suggests that peace is most secure in the hands of those who prepare thoughtfully for its possible strain.
During China’s Spring and Autumn period (770BC-476BC), several feudal states formed an alliance to attack the state of Zheng. Alarmed, Zheng sought to buy time by dispatching lavish gifts to the most powerful member of the coalition, the state of Jin. It sent 100 fully equipped war chariots, three court musicians, a trove of musical instruments and 16 singing girls. Jin’s ruler, Duke Dao, was delighted and awarded half the bounty to his senior minister, Wei Jiang, in recognition of loyal service.
Wei declined. Jin’s strength, he argued, rested not on windfalls but on the duke’s leadership and the unity of his officials. He gently cautioned his ruler not to lose sight of state affairs in the enjoyment of unexpected riches. He reminded the duke that in times of ease, one must remember danger; only by preparing early can calamity be averted.

Duke Dao accepted the counsel with good grace. Wei ultimately accepted the gifts, but his admonition endured, crystallising into the idiom ju’an siwei – “in times of peace, think of danger”. The maxim has echoed across centuries, invoked by rulers in China and by foreign states far beyond it, including modern Singapore.
At first glance, “in times of peace, think of danger” appears to contradict the popular injunction – echoed by my therapists – to live in the moment. Yet the tension is more apparent than real. To live fully in the present does not require blindness to the future. One may savour prosperity while setting aside savings, or enjoy a calm voyage while quietly noting where the lifeboats are.
Vigilance is not the enemy of the joy of living. It is what makes it endure.


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Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan attends the 57th Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Vientiane, Laos, on July 27, 2024. Balakrishnan said in a recent interview that Singapore’s response to ongoing geopolitical tensions would be to engage all major powers constructively, widen networks among middle powers and deepen ties with immediate neighbours, among other measures. Photo: Reuters

Wei Jiang of Jin, who was Duke Dao’s senior minister.

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Lifestyle

Chinese culture

Wei Jiang of the state of Jin epitomises the Chinese idiom ‘in times of peace, think of danger’ – something Singapore follows closely today


Wei Jiang of the state of Jin epitomises the Chinese idiom ‘in times of peace, think of danger’ – something Singapore follows closely today.


Chinese history

Singapore

War and conflict

History

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

Reflections

Modern Singapore knows that vigilance is key. So did an ancient Chinese minister

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Wei Jiang of the state of Jin epitomises the Chinese idiom ‘in times of peace, think of danger’ – something Singapore follows closely today

Wei Jiang of the state of Jin epitomises the Chinese idiom ‘in times of peace, think of danger’ – something Singapore follows closely today