Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (US INDOPACOM) Admiral John Christopher Aquilino was conferred Singapore's prestigious military award, the Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Tentera) or Meritorious Service Medal (Military) [MSM(M)], by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam. Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen presented the award to Admiral Aquilino at an investiture held at the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) this morning.

Admiral Aquilino was conferred the award in recognition of his significant contributions in strengthening bilateral defence ties between the US INDOPACOM and the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) across the land, air, and sea domains. Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the SAF and US INDOPACOM were able to sustain engagements and strengthen cooperation through Singapore's support for the US' presence, as well as the continued training and exercises between our militaries. Under his leadership, our two defence establishments also saw the expansion of bilateral cooperation into the digital domain, with the SAF, US INDOPACOM and US Cyber Command signing the Memorandum of Understanding concerning Cooperation in Cyberspace in Aug 2021.

Admiral Aquilino is in Singapore from 6 to 10 Mar 2024. As part of his visit, he called on Dr Ng and Chief of Defence Force Vice Admiral Aaron Beng.