Minister for Defence in Honolulu for the ASEAN-US Defence Ministers' Informal Meeting

Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen is in Honolulu, Hawaii, from 30 September to 2 October 2016 (Singapore time) for the ASEAN-US Defence Ministers' Informal Meeting. As part of the meeting, Dr Ng will exchange views with the United States (US) Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and the ASEAN Defence Ministers on regional security issues, such as terrorism, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR), and maritime security.

As part of his visit, Dr Ng had a bilateral meeting with the Philippines Secretary of National Defense Delfin Lorenzana earlier today, where they reaffirmed the warm and friendly bilateral defence relationship between Singapore and the Philippines. Dr Ng and Secretary Lorenzana also welcomed the strong cooperation and progress made by the two countries’ militaries on preparations to co-organise Exercise Coordinated Response 2017, a HADR table-top exercise hosted at the Changi Regional HADR Coordination Centre, which aims to promote the sharing of best practices and enhance coordination among Asia-Pacific militaries in HADR.

This is the second time that the US has hosted ASEAN Defence Ministers to a meeting in Hawaii, with the first being held in 2014.