The United States and Singapore defense officials held talks and reaffirmed their mutual commitment to the U.S.-Singapore bilateral defense relationship. They agreed to strengthen collaboration to address technology and cyber security challenges.
The U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner and U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Lindsey Ford hosted Singapore Ministry of Defense Deputy Secretary for Policy Kelvin Fan and Ambassador Ashok Mirpuri for the 7th U.S.-Singapore Mid-Term Defense Review, on April 6 at the Pentagon.
During the dialogue, they addressed a wide range of regional security concerns, and both sides reaffirmed the importance of a rules-based approach to managing increasingly complex geopolitical challenges. They emphasized the critical role that U.S.-Singapore defense cooperation plays in the maintenance of regional security, stability, and prosperity.
Assistant Secretary Ratner and Deputy Secretary Fan reaffirmed the deep and longstanding U.S.-Singapore defense partnership, grounded in the 1990 Memorandum of Understanding and the 2005 Strategic Framework Agreement.
They expressed their enthusiasm for strengthening ongoing logistics cooperation and deepening collaboration on emerging challenges such as technology and cyber security.
Both sides welcomed Singapore’s decision to acquire additional F-35B aircraft and committed to further enhancing high-end training and interoperability between their Armed Forces.
The leaders also discussed platforms for greater multilateral cooperation such as AUKUS, while underscoring the importance of ASEAN centrality.
