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Singapore and China to renew defence agreement by end of this year to boost defence ties

SINGAPORE — Singapore and China are expected to renew a bilateral defence agreement by the end of this year to deepen defence ties through increased military exercises, the city-state’s Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said on Wednesday (May 29).

Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen met his Chinese counterpart, General Wei Fenghe, at the Ministry of Defence on May 29, 2019.

Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen met his Chinese counterpart, General Wei Fenghe, at the Ministry of Defence on May 29, 2019.

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SINGAPORE — Singapore and China are expected to renew a bilateral defence agreement by the end of this year to deepen defence ties through increased military exercises, the city-state’s Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said on Wednesday (May 29).

Dialogues at both the ministerial level and between the country’s respective defence ministries are also on the cards, Dr Ng said.

Speaking to the media after meeting China’s Defence Minister Wei Fenghe at Singapore’s Ministry of Defence (Mindef), Dr Ng said both parties still have to iron out some details relating to the Agreement on Defence Exchanges and Security Cooperation — first signed in 2008.

These include the proposal to scale up existing military exercises and stepping up exchanges between think-tanks of both countries, especially those related to security matters.

During the meeting, both ministers agreed that a bilateral naval exercise would be held next year, said Mindef in a media statement. It added that the ministers also welcomed the conduct of a bilateral army exercise called Exercise Cooperation to be conducted this year.

Asked about the significance of the agreement’s renewal for the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean) and the United States, which is seen as vying for influence in the region, Dr Ng said that the agreement “wasn’t meant to be a bellwether”.

“We’ve always said that we want good defence relationships with all countries and what we’re doing with China is no different from what we’re previously doing,” he said.

“If anything, it reflects bilateral confidence in each other and willingness to deepen defence ties particularly because we’ve shared perspectives for a stable and inclusive region, especially for security matters.”

The meeting between Dr Ng and General Wei comes two days before the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual security summit hosted by Singapore that commences on Friday.

It will be the first time in eight years that China’s defence minister is attending the summit, which is being held against the backdrop of an escalating trade war between the US and China.

The trade battle has resulted in US tech giant Google suspending business ties with China’s biggest telecommunications company, Huawei, which has been placed on the US’ trade blacklist, sending jitters across other countries such as Japan and Britain where some telcos have either halted or delayed the launch of new Huawei smartphones.

When asked about the significance of General Wei’s attendance at the security summit, Dr Ng said that he had conveyed to his counterpart that “it was even more relevant for him to be here because there will be many questions asked on the security implications” in relation to the trade war and how China’s defence ministry and military will respond.

General Wei’s presence at the summit is “reassuring”, said Dr Ng. “The very fact he’s here shows a confident China and a confident People’s Liberation Army, and one that is willing to engage with the region and the world,” he added.

On whether Singapore will be forced to choose sides, Dr Ng said that both the US and China have said that other countries need not do so, which, he added, “reflects that you don’t live in a unipolar or bipolar world”.

“The world is not constructed that way,” stressed Dr Ng.

It would be “retrogressive” to roll back decades-long efforts that have seen an “inclusive architecture”, cutting across global trade and finance, being built.

He added: “I do not believe for a moment that either the US or the Chinese side would want to do so.”

Pointing out that General Wei also reaffirmed China’s commitment to complete the code of conduct guidelines to handle disputes in the South China Sea, Dr Ng expressed doubt that either China or the US wants to increase security tensions.

“Particularly, because there are trade tensions, it’s even more important for security agencies to give reassurance that there won’t be increased risks of miscalculations or misperceptions or, worse still, conflicts,” he added.

Related topics

China United States security Ng Eng Hen defence

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