Dr Ng: ASEAN Plays Key Role in Providing Conditions for Peaceful and Amicable Solution to South China Sea Dispute

Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen (second from left) speaking at the Maritime Security Roundtable at the 55th Munich Security Conference (MSC).

Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen is in Germany from 15 to 18 February 2019¹ to attend the 55th Munich Security Conference (MSC) and to officiate at the launch of the Republic of Singapore Navy's first Type 218SG submarine. The MSC is an annual high-level security conference that brings together heads of government, defence and foreign ministers, parliamentarians, military leaders, and security experts from around the world. Held from 15 to 17 February 2019, this year's MSC will cover a wide range of hot-button security issues. These include geopolitical and security developments in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, and other security issues pertaining to defence cooperation, trade and arms control. 

On 16 February 2019, Dr Ng spoke on the topic "Bridging Troubled Waters – Deconflicting the South China Sea Disputes", as part of a Maritime Security Roundtable, alongside Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, and Senior Advisor to the China Association of Military Science Major General (Ret) Yao Yunzhu. The session was moderated by Royal Institute of International Affairs Associate Fellow Dr Bill Hayton. 

In his speech, Dr Ng highlighted that the facts on the ground in the South China Sea had changed. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) has established a series of forward facilities on features within the South China Sea. The United States (US), United Kingdom (UK) and France continued to sail their warships through the disputed areas in the South China Sea, which China has sometimes responded robustly to. Within these new realities, Dr Ng said, "the outcome of this modus vivendi (in the South China Sea) remains uncertain, with no assured stability. If any side… beyond the claimant states chooses to be more assertive or underestimates the resolve of the other party, more trouble and uncertainty may ensue."

Dr Ng said that in this context, ASEAN has taken a practical approach taken a practical approach, to work on the Code of Conduct (COC) to constrain, if not, bind behaviour. He added, "As ADMM/ADMM-Plus² Chair last year, we developed the Guidelines for Air Military Encounters (GAME), the first of its kind in the world. And as ASEAN-China Coordinator, Singapore also facilitated the successful conduct of the first ASEAN-China Maritime Exercise. All of these are practical confidence-building measures that minimise the risk of miscalculations, and build trust and confidence among militaries." 

Dr Ng also met Canadian Minister of National Defence Harjit Singh Sajjan on the sidelines of the MSC yesterday. Both sides reaffirmed the warm and friendly defence relations between Singapore and Canada, and exchanged views on the evolving geopolitical developments in the Asia-Pacific. While in Munich, Dr Ng will also meet US Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan, UK Secretary of State for Defence Gavin Williamson, President of the Kuwait National Security Bureau Sheikh Thamer Ali Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, and Lithuanian Minister of National Defence Raimundas Karoblis.

¹ All dates indicated in the News Release are in Singapore time.

² ADMM refers to ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting. 

Dr Ng (second from left) having a bilateral call with Canadian Minister of National Defence Harjit Singh Sajjan (right) on the sidelines of the 55th MSC.

More Resources

Speech by Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen at the Munich Security Conference and NATO Centre of Excellence for Operations in Confined and Shallow Waters Maritime Security Roundtable