Singapore Hosts 17th FPDA Defence Chiefs' Conference

The Defence Chiefs of the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) member countries are in Singapore from 4 to 6 October for the 17th FPDA Defence Chiefs' Conference (FDCC). Chaired by Singapore's Chief of Defence Force (CDF) Lieutenant-General (LG) Perry Lim, this year's conference was attended by Australia's CDF, Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin; New Zealand's CDF, LG Timothy Keating; the United Kingdom's Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, GEN Sir Gordon Messenger; and Malaysia's Joint Force Commander, LG Dato' Fadzil Bin Mokhtar. 
 
At the conference this morning, the Defence Chiefs reaffirmed their commitment to the FPDA, and emphasised the important role that the FPDA plays in enhancing regional cooperation and security. The Defence Chiefs also discussed and issued the FPDA Exercise Concept Directive, which guides the development of future FPDA exercises and activities to strengthen interoperability and military cooperation between the armed forces of the five member nations.

At an interview after the conference, LG Perry Lim reiterated that the FPDA continues to be an integral part of the regional security architecture and that the FPDA remains relevant to its member nations. He said, "... we have learnt a lot from exercising and the professional sharing with all the other four member countries, so I think going forward that continues to be the case...the FPDA continues to be a very important, critical arrangement for Singapore and Malaysia, and we are very happy that the ANZUK countries (Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom) continue to show very strong commitment to this arrangement..."

The FDCC, which is hosted alternately by Malaysia and Singapore, is the highest military professional forum of the FPDA and serves as an important platform for dialogue and exchange of views among the Defence Chiefs.

This year also marks 45 years of the FPDA. As part of the anniversary celebrations, the Defence Chiefs will attend a celebratory dinner later this evening, as well as visit the Kranji War Memorial, attend the opening ceremony of Exercise Bersama Lima at Changi Naval Base and attend a breakfast hosted by Singapore's Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen on 6 October 2016.