Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen had a bilateral meeting with Japanese Minister of Defense Itsunori Onodera at the Japan Ministry of Defense this afternoon. 

During the meeting, Dr Ng and Mr Onodera reaffirmed the warm bilateral defence relations between Singapore and Japan, and exchanged views on regional security issues such as the situation in the Korean Peninsula and in the South China Sea. Mr Onodera affirmed Japan's Vientiane Vision as its strategy for engaging the ADMM and expressed Japan's commitment to the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM)-Plus. He also conveyed his support for Singapore's ADMM Chairmanship deliverables.

This is the fourth time Dr Ng is meeting with Mr Onodera. Dr Ng first met Mr Onodera on the sidelines of the 12th Shangri-La Dialogue in 2013. Prior to meeting Mr Onodera, Dr Ng was briefed on the Japan Air Self-Defense Force's capabilities and visited the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Interceptor Missile Battery. He also reviewed a Guard of Honour at Japan's Ministry of Defense.

Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen is on a three-day working visit to Japan from 20 to 22 May 2018. As part of the visit, Dr Ng also met with Secretary-General, National Security Secretariat Shotaro Yachi earlier this afternoon at the Japan Prime Minister’s Office. 

Dr Ng's visit to Japan underscores the warm and friendly bilateral defence relationship between Singapore and Japan. The two defence establishments interact regularly through visits, policy dialogues, military staff talks and cross-attendance of courses and seminars.