DPM TEO'S VISIT TO CHINA REAFFIRMS SINO-SINGAPORE TIES

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean visited the 2nd Army Aviation Regiment of the Chengdu Military Region on 20 Apr as part of his five-day visit to China.

During his visit to the 2nd Army Aviation Regiment, Mr Teo was briefed on the unit's contributions to the Sichuan earthquake disaster relief efforts.

The efforts included formulating a disaster relief plan just three minutes after the earthquake hit and providing helicopters to evacuate the remaining survivors swiftly despite the less than ideal safety conditions caused by the earthquake.

While in Chengdu, Mr Teo also called on Commander of the Chengdu Military Region Lieutenant-General (LG) Li Shiming and senior officials of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) where they discussed the bilateral relations between the two countries and the progress made in recent years as a result of various interactions.

Mr Teo will then proceed to Yan'an on 21 Apr where he will visit the China Executive Leadership Academy in Yan'an (CELAY). There, he will conduct a dialogue with the students of the Academy as well as meet with Shaanxi Vice Party Secretary Wang Xia and Executive Vice-President of CELAY Chen Yannan.

In an effort to gain a deeper insight into the leadership structure in China, Mr Teo will be briefed on the Academy's leadership development framework as well as the Communist Party of China.

To reaffirm the bilateral defence ties between the two countries, Mr Teo will also head to Beijing where he will meet with key Chinese political and defence leaders such as Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission General (GEN) Xu Caihou, Minister of National Defense GEN Liang Guanglie and PLA Chief of General Staff GEN Chen Bingde.

Mr Teo's last official defence visit to China was in 2008 where he met several high ranking defence officials such as Minister of National Defense General (GEN) Liang Guanglie.

His visits to China, as part of the regular exchange of high-level bilateral visits by top leaders, underscore the multi-faceted and broad-based relationship between the two countries.

This long-standing relationship is also evident by the signing of the bilateral agreement on Defence Exchanges and Security Cooperation (ADESC) between Singapore and China in January 2008 as well as the conduct of the first joint training exercise codenamed COOPERATION, last year.

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20 Apr 10 - DPM Teo Visits China