Dr Ng to host Chinese and ASEAN Defence Ministers next week in Singapore

Singapore's Defence Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen will host visits by the Chinese Minister of National Defense General (GEN) Chang Wanquan and Defence Ministers from ASEAN next week on the sidelines of the Singapore Airshow 2018.

GEN Chang will be in Singapore for his introductory visit from 4 to 8 February 2018. The ASEAN Defence Ministers and Secretary-General of ASEAN are here to attend the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) Retreat from 5 to 6 February 2018.

This year marks Singapore's Chairmanship of ASEAN, the ADMM and the ADMM-Plus[1]. Singapore is also the ASEAN-China Country Coordinator from 2015 to 2018. The formal ADMM and the ADMM-Plus meetings will be held in October. This is the second time that Singapore is chairing the ADMM, since the establishment of the ADMM in 2006.

[1] The ADMM-Plus comprises 18 countries, namely the ten ASEAN countries as well as Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States. Since its establishment in 2010, the ADMM-Plus has made significant progress in facilitating strategic dialogue between defence officials as well as practical cooperation between militaries. This positive momentum of practical cooperation is seen from the organisation of other ADMM-Plus exercises, including the ADMM-Plus Maritime Security and Counter-Terrorism Exercise in May 2016 and the ADMM-Plus Military Medicine and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Exercise in September 2016. Such exercises contribute to confidence building and the promotion of stable military-to-military relations to enhance regional peace and stability.