Singapore and Malaysia to Strengthen Bilateral Defence Relations

Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen (third from right) had a meeting with and hosted Malaysian Defence Minister Dato' Seri Hishammuddin Hussein (fourth from right) to dinner this evening.

Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen had a meeting with and hosted Malaysian Defence Minister Dato' Seri Hishammuddin Hussein to dinner this evening. In their discussion and during the dinner, Dr Ng and Dato' Seri Hishammuddin reaffirmed the longstanding defence relationship between the two countries, and agreed to strengthen bilateral defence cooperation. Also in attendance at the dinner were Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) Chief of Defence Force General Tan Sri Dato' Sri Zulkifeli Mohd Zin, Secretary General of the Malaysian Ministry of Defence Dato' Sri Dr Haji Ismail Haji Ahmad, Malaysian High Commissioner to Singapore Dato' Husni Zai Yaacob, Royal Malaysian Navy Deputy Chief of Navy Vice-Admiral Dato' Seri Ahmad Kamarulzaman Haji Ahmad Badaruddin, Royal Malaysian Air Force Deputy Chief of Air Force Lieutenant-General (LG) Haji Roslan Saad, MAF Army Field Commander LG Dato' Sri Zulkiple Haji Kassim, Deputy Director General of Defence Intelligence MG Mohd Sobri, Deputy Secretary General (Policy) of the Malaysian Ministry of Defence Datuk Zulkafli Abdul Karim, and Deputy Secretary General (Development) of the Malaysian Ministry of Defence Dato' Dr Rothiah Haji Omar.

Dr Ng was accompanied by Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General Ng Chee Meng, SAF Chief of Army Major General Ravinder Singh, Deputy Secretary (Policy) Rear-Admiral (RADM) Lai Chung Han, Director Military Intelligence and Commander Air Defence Operations Command BG Mervyn Tan, Chief of Staff-Air Staff BG Lim Yeong Kiat, and Republic of Singapore Navy Fleet Commander RADM Timothy Lo. Also in attendance were other senior officials from both defence establishments.

Dato' Seri Hishammuddin, who is in Singapore from 10 to 13 Feb, will visit the Singapore Airshow 2014 tomorrow. During his visit, he will also call on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and meet with Deputy Prime Minister, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs Teo Chee Hean, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Law K Shanmugam and Minister for Transport Lui Tuck Yew.

Dato' Seri Hishammuddin's visit underscores the warm defence as well as bilateral ties between Singapore and Malaysia. The SAF and the MAF share a long history of cooperation, and interact regularly through bilateral exercises such as the Land Exercise Semangat Bersatu and the Naval Exercise Malapura. The two navies will be commemorating the 30th anniversary of Ex Malapura later this month. Both armed forces also work closely together at the multilateral level under the ambit of the Five Power Defence Arrangements, the Malacca Strait Patrols and ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus framework. As part of the FPDA Exercise Bersama Lima 2013, the RSAF and the Royal Malaysian Air Forces cross-deployed fighters to each other's air bases as part of a Fighter Cross Deployment. These interactions have contributed significantly towards deepening the mutual understanding and camaraderie among personnel from the two armed forces.