Interview with Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen on his visit to Brunei

Question One

Question: Could Minister elaborate on the significance of 40 years of defence relations between Singapore and Brunei?

Defence Minister: Well, I am very happy to be here in Brunei Darussalam. I had very good meetings with my counterparts, also the call on His Majesty, Sultan Bolkiah and the Crown Prince of Brunei, as well as met with old friends Pehin Yasmin, Pehin Lim Jock Seng, Dato Aziz and other staff at the Ministry of Defence in Brunei.

It has been 40 years of defence ties and we have built up very good relations. It is a very special relationship because the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) troops come here to train regularly and many of them are familiar with Temburong, where they do their jungle training and many SAF NSmen (Operationally Ready National Servicemen) have definite memories that last for a long time of their time here because they bond with each other as well. 

But for the SAF and the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF), we have many exchanges and bilateral exercises. We went to visit Exercise Pelican today, which is in its 35th edition. Our RSN helicopter landing on the RBN ship -- a simple manoeuvre but it speaks volumes of the trust and interoperability between both our militaries. This has come about because we exercise very frequently and it is mutually beneficial. 

So I affirmed all these positive aspects with His Majesty, the Crown Prince and the leaders of Brunei and they in turn, said that they were very happy to have the SAF here, training here, and having bilateral exchanges. Of course, all of us wish that our defence ties will continue to grow year on year as this is a very special and precious relationship that we have with the RBAF and we want to make sure that that continues.

Question Two

Question: Following the MOU signed yesterday (29 Aug), could Minister elaborate on the significance of establishing this partnership with Brunei?

Defence Minister: It is a natural step to sign the defence technology cooperation MOU because for both of us -- both the SAF and the RBAF -- manpower constraints are real issues and we need technology to multiply our efforts so we are both happy to do it and I am sure that there will be beneficial outcomes from this MOU.

Question Three

Question: Exercise Pelican 2016 is the 35th in its series. Could Minister elaborate on the significance of Ex Pelican in enhancing bilateral relations between the two navies, and on a larger scale, the two defence establishments?

Defence Minister: The Bruneians have had their OPVs (Offshore Patrol Vessels) for a few years and they shared with me that they have less experience in, for example, helicopters operating off their ships, so we were quite happy to be able to share some expertise, as well as learn from them so I think it is mutually beneficial. We have had longer experience with helicopters on ships, but nonetheless we benefit from training with other like-minded militaries in the region. It was a good exercise and it built confidence in both sides. It also helped that we could do joint missions together during the exercise as that increases what we call 'interoperability' -- we are able to understand how each other operates -- and that helps.

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