Singapore and China Reaffirm Commitment to Deepen Defence Ties

Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen held a bilateral meeting with Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense General (GEN) Chang Wanquan at the Chinese Ministry of National Defense Bayi building in Beijing yesterday. Following on from Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong's meeting with President Xi Jinping the previous evening, Dr Ng and GEN Chang reaffirmed the commitment to deepen defence ties and build mutual trust and practical cooperation between both countries. As part of the all-round comprehensive engagement between Singapore and China across all sectors, the defence relationship is built on shared strategic interests to enhance bilateral ties and to promote stability and progress for the region. 
 
During the meeting, Dr Ng congratulated the People's Liberation Army (PLA) on its 90th anniversary and acknowledged the pivotal role the PLA had played in China's founding and continued importance in shaping its future. The Ministers gave full support for their Ministries and between the PLA and the Singapore Armed Forces to adopt practical measures to further strengthen bilateral defence cooperation. In particular, through more high level visits between both leaders and top echelon commanders, as well as conducting the next editions of our army-to-army and navy-to-navy bilateral exercises. These measures are consistent with and will build on the Four Point Consensus which both Ministers agreed to in 2014. Since then, Singapore-China defence relations have steadily progressed, including the introduction of a new bilateral naval exercise in 2015, Exercise Maritime Cooperation, which comprised conventional naval warfare serials, exercise planning, and combined simulator training ashore. Dr Ng also invited GEN Chang and the PLA leadership to visit Singapore. 
 
GEN Chang acknowledged the role that Singapore, as the ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations Coordinator, has played to improve defence ties between China and ASEAN. Looking ahead to Singapore's Chairmanship of ASEAN in 2018, Dr Ng and GEN Chang agreed to further strengthen ASEAN-China relations in order to enhance regional peace and stability. 
  
Dr Ng's bilateral meeting was conducted on the sidelines of PM Lee's visit to China from 19 to 21 September 2017. As part of his trip, Dr Ng was hosted to a visit of the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution by its curator, Major-General Dong Changjun.