SINGAPORE, INDIA AGREE ON GREATER DEFENCE COOPERATION

Establishing more regular dialogues between both Defence Ministers, deepening collaboration in maritime security and boosting cooperation between Singapore and India's defence industries. These are the agreements stated in the revised Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) between Singapore and India.

The revised DCA was concluded alongside the India-Singapore Strategic Partnership signed by Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong and Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, at the Istana on 24 Nov.

Under the ambit of an Enhanced Defence Partnership, the revised DCA was signed by Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen and Indian Minister of Defence Manohar Parrikar. The DCA was also symbolically exchanged by Permanent Secretary for Defence Chan Yeng Kit, and Indian Foreign Secretary Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, in the presence of both Prime Ministers.

Commenting that the revised DCA was a significant milestone from the first one signed more than 10 years ago, Dr Ng said: "Our defence ties have committed to meetings at the highest level between defence ministers regularly and more military-to-military ties and exercises.

"Specifically, (there is) also closer collaboration for maritime security (and) an agreement on exchange of information for white-shipping." (White-shipping refers to commercial shipping information about movement of cargo ships.)

He added that this collaboration put defence relations between both countries on a better footing, and signalled that Singapore and India had become closer defence partners.

On the topic of maritime security, Dr Ng said that both countries valued the importance of peace and stability, with reduced tensions and minimal possibility of any disruption to global trade and maritime lanes.

He said: "Maritime security is an essential lifeline for economies or trade in this region, whether it's the South China Sea or Straits of Malacca. India's voice will be heard and we share common perspectives in terms of common stability."

The revised DCA also coincided with the signing of a Technical Agreement on the Sharing of White-Shipping Information between the Republic of Singapore Navy and the Indian Navy in July this year. With the TA, this has allowed Singapore's Information Fusion Centre and India's Directorate of Network Centric Operations to exchange real-time white-shipping information for greater maritime awareness and sense-making.

The revised DCA is seen as bringing the defence relations between Singapore and India a few notches up, as both countries commemorate 50 years of diplomatic relations.

Defence interactions between both countries include high-level visits, policy dialogues, joint military training, defence technology cooperation, courses, seminars and other professional exchanges.