Singaporean Permanent Secretary for Defence Chan Heng Kee and US Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Policy James Anderson co-chaired the 11^th Singapore-US Strategic Security Policy Dialogue (SSPD) at Singapore’s Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) on September 16.

US Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Policy James Anderson pays a courtersy call to Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen. (Photo: Singapore’s Ministry of Defence)

During the dialogue, Chan and Anderson reaffirmed the excellent and long-standing bilateral defence relationship between the two sides. They discussed opportunities to strengthen bilateral defence cooperation under the ambit of the 1990 Memorandum of Understanding Regarding United States Use of Facilities in Singapore, as well as in defence technology and non-conventional security domains like counter-terrorism.

Both sides also exchanged views on regional developments and security cooperation under the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM)-Plus framework and reaffirmed the importance of the US' continued engagement of the region.

In its statement, the US Department of Defence said the two officials discussed regional developments, including the Covid-19 response across the region, developments in the East Sea (internationally called South China Sea), counterterrorism, and the upcoming ADMM-Plus.

As part of his visit, Anderson paid courtesy visits to Singapore’s Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen and Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General Melvyn Ong, prior to the SSPD.

He also visited RSS Singapura - Changi Naval Base, and Sembawang Air Base.

According to the MINDEF, in addition to high-level dialogues like the SSPD, Singapore and the US interact regularly through military-to-military exchanges, training and cross-attendance of courses, and defence technology cooperation.

The US has also provided long-standing support for the Singapore Armed Forces' overseas training in the US, most recently with the conclusion of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in December 2019 concerning the establishment of an RSAF Training Detachment in Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.

Source: VNA