I cannot agree more with Mr Adrian Villanueva that Singapore should not take a strong military for granted and that having a modern military could be a boost to our defence ("Don't underestimate need for strong military"; last Saturday).

Our priority should be a possible purchase of the F-35, an advanced and modern fourth-generation fighter jet ("Open debate needed on defence policy" by Dr Paul Tambyah; last Friday).

The possession of the F-35 makes a lot of sense, not only because it would be a bigger deterrent to our adversaries but also because of the special attribute of this aircraft - the ability to take off and land vertically.

With the F-35 in our fleet of fighters, our air force could be freed from requiring vast amounts of land for conventional air strips, which is just what land-scarce Singapore needs.

Roy Goh Hin Soon