SINGAPORE — Singapore and India signed a total of nine agreements today (Nov 24), ranging from defence to culture to civil aviation to maritime and cyber security, as the countries marked 50 years of diplomatic relations.

A revised Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) will see both sides establish a regular defence ministers’ dialogue, deepen cooperation in maritime security and encourage cooperation between the defence industries of the two countries. 

Speaking to reporters after the signing ceremony, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said the revised DCA is a “significant upgrade” compared with what was inked more than a decade ago. “We have committed to a meeting at the highest level between our defence ministers regularly, more military-to-military ties, exercises, specifically also for closer cooperation in maritime security,” noted Dr Ng.

Dr Ng said there is a lot of potential for the defence industries of both countries to work together. “In our (Singapore) structure, our defence industry is predominantly private. So it has to make commercial sense, but in principle, there are a lot of possibilities for us to collaborate (on),” he said.

Other accords that were inked, in tandem with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day state visit here, included enhancing cooperation to combat drug trafficking, improve cybersecurity, and promote urban planning and wastewater management. 

The signing ceremony was witnessed by Mr Modi and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

The revised DCA, signed by Dr Ng and Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, marks a significant milestone in strengthening defence ties. It follows an earlier Technical Agreement (TA) on the Sharing of White-Shipping Information between the Republic of Singapore Navy and the Indian Navy in July this year. Among the agreements signed today were documents related to the operationalisation of the TA. The TA is testament to the longstanding interest of Singapore and India to enhance cooperation in maritime security and maritime information sharing.

Dr Ng said maritime security is an essential lifeline for the economies that trade in Asia, whether it is in the South China Sea or the Straits of Malacca. “India has been a stakeholder (in the regional maritime domain) since time immemorial. The Indian shipping industry came here way before there were established routes,” he said. “Singapore sees it as our collective interest to have peace and stability, certainty about sea lines of communications — certainty meaning reduced tensions and with minimal possibility of any disruption to global maritime trade,” he added.

The minister said India is aware of the importance of these issues as a member of the Association of South-east Asian Nations Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM)-Plus gathering as well as the East Asia Summit. “India’s voice will be heard and I am sure that we share common perspectives in terms of maritime stability.” 

Singapore and India share warm and long-standing defence relations, with bilateral engagements deepening since the signing of the DCA in 2003. Subsequently, both countries also signed the Air Force and Army Bilateral Agreements in 2007 and 2008, respectively. 

“It (the various agreements signed) puts us on a better footing, certainly a few notches up from our previous defence agreements and signals that India and Singapore are closer defence partners,” said Dr Ng.
Apart from defence, aviation and culture also received a boost.

An agreement signed between the Airports Authority of India and Singapore Cooperation Enterprise, the integrated arm of statutory board International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, seeks to broaden cooperation in areas such as master planning and design, cargo handling and management.

It will lead to improvements in regional air connectivity, promoting tourism between the two countries. The cooperation will begin in Jaipur and Ahmedabad airports, and may be extended to other airports. 
Another agreement aims to extend the long-term loan of nine artefacts from the Archaeological Survey of India to the Asian Civilisations Museum 

The artefacts include several limestone slabs and fragments with depictions of the Buddha.