Minister for Defence and US Congressional Delegation affirm bilateral defence relations

Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen hosted a United States (US) congressional delegation led by US Congressional Singapore Caucus Co-Chairs Bradley Byrne (Republican-Alabama) and Denny Heck (Democrat-Washington) to breakfast this morning (23 Feb).
The delegation also included Rick Larsen (Democrat-Washington), the Ministry informed on a press release today.
During the breakfast, Dr Ng and the congressional delegation affirmed the excellent and long-standing defence relationship between Singapore and the US. The delegation expressed appreciation for Singapore’s support for the US’ regional presence.
Both sides also discussed a wide range of regional security developments, where Dr Ng reiterated the importance of the US’ engagement of the Asia-Pacific in both military and economic domains. Last month the US President Donald Trump has formally withdrawn from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, a move which impact negatively on the Asia-Pacific nations, including Singapore.

As part of the visit, the congressional delegation also visited Changi Naval Base yesterday, where they were hosted to a tour of the Changi Command and Control Centre. In particular, the congressional delegation visited the Information Fusion Centre (IFC), where they were briefed on the IFC’s role as a key node for facilitating information-sharing and enhancing multilateral cooperation on maritime security.
The congressional delegation also visited the Changi Regional Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Coordination Centre (RHCC), where they were briefed on the Changi RHCC’s mechanisms in coordinating large-scale relief efforts among partner militaries during natural disasters.
The congressional delegation is visiting Singapore from 20 to 24 February 2017.