Acting United States (US) Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan called on Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana today. Acting Secretary Shanahan is in Singapore for the 18th Shangri-La Dialogue. The call was also attended by Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan and Senior Minister of State for Defence Heng Chee How.

During their meeting, PM Lee and Acting Secretary Shanahan reaffirmed the excellent and long-standing bilateral relations between Singapore and the US. PM Lee expressed appreciation for the US' support for the Singapore Armed Forces' training in the US. PM Lee and Acting Secretary Shanahan also discussed regional security developments and both reiterated the importance of the US' continued engagement of the Asia-Pacific. PM Lee and Acting Secretary Shanahan expressed support for the renewal of the 1990 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the United States Use of Facilities in Singapore. That seminal MOU signed by our founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and then-US Vice President Dan Quayle was the key document that facilitated the US' access to Singapore's air and naval bases, and underpinned the US' regional presence for almost 30 years.

Acting Secretary Shanahan will also meet Southeast Asian Defence Ministers attending the Shangri-La Dialogue later today, on the sidelines of the Dialogue.