Transcript of Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen's remarks at the 11th Singapore-Australia Joint Ministerial Committee Joint Press Conference

Preamble

Let me echo Minister Vivian Balakrishnan – a word of thanks to Ministers Marise Payne, Christopher Pyne, and Simon Birmingham. I agree completely with my colleague, Minister Christopher Pyne, that for defence ties between Australia and Singapore, it is extremely bright. It's good innings and we expect much better results even moving forward. We talked about the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA): how the 50th year is coming up, and how it was the progenitor of multilateral relationships and forged a path for other countries. We talked about ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus, which still remains inclusive, including both China and US within that framework. 

For bilateral ties, we talked about the good progress of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP), especially what we are jointly building in the Shoalwater Bay and Townsville area. It is unique on two points. One is that in 2015, the Government committed future governments to not only develop, but complete developing this. To train, to be allowed to train for 25 years, and that is very unique. The second point, I think the uniqueness is the fact that it is a physical icon. You know when you talk about the Eiffel Tower, it reflects the American-French relationship. What we are building in these two areas, to me, is a physical embodiment of those extremely close ties that Australia and Singapore have. And we are looking forward to the presence of more Australian planes and ships, including your (P-8A) Poseidons and your patrol vessels, in our air bases as well as in Changi. 

Let me just close off by saying that when it came to counter-terrorism, we again agreed on the need to have intelligence-sharing, both in anticipation of the returned fighters from Iraq and Syria, as well as unfortunately, the expected reprisals coming out from the Christchurch incident.

Q&A

Question: How does Australia think Singapore's decision to buy F-35 fighter jets from the United States (US) will affect relations with China and the geopolitics of the region in general? 

Mr Christopher Pyne, Australia Minister for Defence: The decision of Singapore with respect to their air force F-35s or any other platform is really a matter that the Singaporeans can respond to, and how it will affect their relationships geo-strategically in the region. I can say on behalf of Australia that we very much welcome Singapore joining the F-35 club, the Joint Strike Fighter Club. I can also say that Australia has won over the last three years the vast majority of opportunities to maintain, repair, overhaul, and upgrade the F-35s that are operating in the Asia-Pacific region, and that fact that Singapore will join Australia in operating F-35s, along with South Korea and Japan, means that Singaporean F-35s will be able to be maintained here in Australia, if necessary. We have also won the capacity to do the warehousing, refit the engines, and look after what used to be called the fuselage. So this just ties Singapore and Australia even closer together. We are very happy with our decision to take part in the Joint Strike Fighter programme since its inception. It was a good decision of the previous coalition government and I think Singapore is a very welcome participant in it.

Dr Ng: We have been on record, put on record that our acquisition of platforms is for our own purposes, defence diplomacy, and not directed against, or to align ourselves, to any particular country. So that is on record. It is as ridiculous to say that if we bought submarines from (the) Germans, which we have, that it was directed at a country in Europe. You do not ask that question. I think it will help for us when it does assist us in operating with other countries who use the F-35s in the future. I think that is certainly opportunities for interoperability and training.

More Resources

Singapore and Australia Reaffirm Defence Relations at 11th Singapore-Australia Joint Ministerial Committee Meeting