The think-tank I lead interacts regularly with some of the world’s foremost strategic thinkers — those who have spent most or all of their professional lives examining security from academic, policymaking or intelligence perspectives. Their consensus is that the future of security worldwide has never before been so uncertain, and so fraught with impending dangers.

Much has been said about the terror threat by Islamic State (IS), and we can see how terrorism is drawing inexorably closer to our shores: From the Erawan Shrine bombing in Bangkok last year to the Jakarta attacks last month, to the multiple arrests of IS-influenced individuals in Malaysia and, most recently, the arrest of a cell of radicalised Bangladeshis in Singapore. The last in particular should give us pause, as the men could have easily changed their target to Singapore.

It would be a serious error, however, to suggest that a terror attack is the only major risk Singapore faces. The sobering fact is that this is just one aspect of the security challenge.

… Dr Shashi Jayakumar is the Head of the Centre of Excellence for National Security at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University. Today is Total Defence Day.