Singapore and Australia Reaffirm Defence Relations at the Singapore-Australia Joint Ministerial Committee Meeting

Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen (far right) meeting Australian Minister for Defence (second from right), together with Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade), their respective Australian counterparts and Australia's Special Envoy for Trade, prior to the ninth SAJMC meeting.

Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen met Australian Minister for Defence Marise Payne in Sydney, Australia today, during the ninth meeting of the Singapore-Australia Joint Ministerial Committee (SAJMC). Dr Ng and Ms Payne discussed initiatives to strengthen defence cooperation under the Singapore-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. They also exchanged views on regional and international security issues, which highlighted the convergence of strategic interests and perspectives between both countries.

Both Ministers pledged to further enhance the strong relationship between the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The SAF and the ADF share a long history of high quality military cooperation, with extensive interactions that include bilateral and multilateral exercises, mutual visits, professional exchanges, and the cross-attendance of courses. The SAF also conducts rigorous training in Australian training areas such as Shoalwater Bay and Oakey, Queensland; Pearce, Western Australia; and Tamworth, New South Wales.

Following up on the discussion on cooperation against extremist terrorism during their earlier meeting in November last year, Dr Ng and Ms Payne welcomed the conduct of an ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM)-Plus Maritime Security and Counter-Terrorism Exercise that will be co-organised by the ADMM-Plus Experts' Working Groups on Maritime Security and Counter-Terrorism in May 2016. Both Ministers also reaffirmed the value of the Five Power Defence Arrangements as a useful component of the regional security architecture.

The ninth meeting of the SAJMC was also attended by Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade) Lim Hng Kiang and their respective Australian counterparts.

Dr Ng (second from right) and Ms Payne (second from left) at the ninth SAJMC meeting since the SAJMC was established in 1996.