S'PORE, CHINA TO DEEPEN RELATIONS

Minister of Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen noted at the end of his introductory visit to China on 21 Jun that increasing interactions between the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and Chinese leaders help to build greater understanding, deepen cooperation and the ability to forge stability in the region.

"China and Singapore agreed to both deepen and widen our relationship, and to widen our context...increase our exchange of MINDEF officials at the top level, senior commanders between the Singapore Armed Forces and the People's Liberation Army, as well as younger officers; and to facilitate (this), especially in areas of non-traditional security (such as) military medicine and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief," said Dr Ng during an interview with Singapore media correspondents in Beijing, at which he shared his thoughts on the key takeaways of his visit.

Earlier in the day, Dr Ng had met Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping and they reaffirmed the longstanding and excellent bilateral relations between the two countries.

During their meeting, both Dr Ng and Mr Xi expressed confidence that the defence relationship between the two countries could be further enhanced through high-level strategic dialogues, interactions and exercises, ultimately serving to deepen understanding and enhancing mutual trust.

On the China-Singapore relationship, Dr Ng noted that the Chinese saw it as a very important one, and he was humbled when they said that both parties had learnt from each other over the years.

"I assured (the Chinese) that if they feel that they can learn from us, we are happy to share with them. We don't push ourselves forward to teach - let alone a country the size of China - lessons. My response to them was that this was a very valuable relationship. We will go back and increase and facilitate the channels so that our relationship can be deepened," said Dr Ng.

On the importance of good relations with both the United States and China, Dr Ng said: "The US is our closest defence partner because we have had a deep and longer defence relationship over the years, with the exchange of technology. China is a rising power and all countries recognise that we need to engage China."

He added that the challenge was to create an inclusive and regional security framework where relationships were strengthened constructively. This would then ensure that no relationship needed to be mutually exclusive.

Besides Mr Xi, Dr Ng also met other Chinese leaders including Vice-Chairman of the Central Military Commission General (GEN) Xu Caihou and State Councillor and Minister of National Defence GEN Liang Guanglie, during his visit. His four-day visit began on 18 Jun and was part of regular exchanges of high-level bilateral and defence visits by top leaders of the two countries.