Singapore and China to Work Together to Deepen ASEAN-China Ties

Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen (left) met with Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense General Chang Wanquan on (right) on the sidelines of the 11th ADMM and 4th ADMM-Plus.

Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen held a bilateral meeting with Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense General (GEN) Chang Wanquan today, on the sidelines of the 11th ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM) and 4th ADMM-Plus.

During the meeting, GEN Chang expressed appreciation for Singapore's efforts at strengthening ASEAN-China ties in Singapore's role as ASEAN-China coordinator. Following on from their meeting in Beijing on 21 Sep 2017, and looking ahead to 2018 when Singapore assumes the ASEAN Chairmanship, Dr Ng and GEN Chang discussed further practical initiatives to advance ASEAN-China relations. This includes planning for conduct of an inaugural ASEAN-China maritime exercise. 

Singapore is the ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations Coordinator from 2015 to 2018. Singapore and China also share warm and friendly bilateral defence relations. Since the agreement of the Four Point Consensus by Dr Ng and GEN Chang in 2014, Singapore-China defence relations have steadily progressed. In addition to high level bilateral interactions and exchanges, the People's Liberation Army and the Singapore Armed Forces conduct regular bilateral interactions, such as the army exercise, Exercise Cooperation, and the new bilateral naval exercise, Exercise Maritime Cooperation, introduced in 2015.