Commander of the United States Pacific Fleet (US PACFLT), Admiral (ADM) John C. Aquilino called on Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen at the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) this morning. During the meeting, Dr Ng and ADM Aquilino reaffirmed the strategic partnership and strong defence ties between Singapore and the United States, and the substantial and wide-ranging areas of cooperation between the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and the US PACFLT. In particular, Dr Ng and ADM Aquilino reaffirmed the support that Singapore has provided the US PACFLT for almost 30 years, under the ambit of the recently renewed 1990 Memorandum of Understanding Regarding US Use of Facilities in Singapore. Both sides also discussed areas of ongoing cooperation in the military-to-military and defence technology spheres.

ADM Aquilino, who is in Singapore from 24 to 26 October 2019 for his introductory visit, also called on Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General Melvyn Ong and reviewed a Guard of Honour earlier this morning at MINDEF. ADM Aquilino will visit RSS Singapura – Changi Naval Base in the afternoon, where he will view the RSN’s Formidable-class frigate RSS Stalwart.

ADM Aquilino's visit underscores the strong navy-to-navy relations between Singapore and the United States, as well as the excellent and long-standing bilateral defence relationship. Both navies interact regularly through high-level visits, professional exchanges, cross-attendance of courses and seminars, and numerous bilateral and multilateral exercises. This includes the recently concluded Exercise Pacific Griffin between the RSN and the United States Navy.^[1] These interactions have strengthened the interoperability and cooperation between both navies, and fostered strong friendships between naval personnel from both countries.