Plans for Bilateral Military Co-operation with China

Mr Ong Teng Koon asked the Minister for Defence whether he can provide an update on plans for bilateral military co-operation with China.

Singapore's defence ties with China are healthy and growing. The SAF conducts regular exercises with the PLA. The flagship bilateral Army Exercise Cooperation was successfully completed in Singapore this year, progressing to company-plus level exercises. The Army looks forward to Exercise Cooperation 2020 in China. When the Exercise Cooperation was held in Nanjing in 2014, I witnessed the good rapport and professionalism on both sides there. Our Navy also successfully co-organised the inaugural ASEAN-China Maritime Exercise with the PLA Navy in October last year. I visited the exercise troops in Zhanjiang, and was happy to learn that they were using RSN's platform – the Information Fusion Centre's Real-Time Information Sharing System (IRIS) – to provide a common situation picture for the conduct of the exercise.

Engagements between the military commanders and defence officials are frequent and productive. The Chief of Defence Force conducted his introductory visit to China in September 2018 and met his counterpart the PLA Chief of Joint Staff GEN Li Zuocheng. In November 2018, SAF's Chief of Air Force visited the Zhuhai Airshow and met Commander of the PLA Air Force GEN Ding Laihang. More recently in April 2019, the SAF's Chief of Navy attended the International Fleet Review in Qingdao in commemoration of the PLA Navy's 70th anniversary, hosted by Commander of the PLA Navy ADM Shen Jinlong.

China Minister of National Defense and State Councilor GEN Wei Fenghe conducted his introductory visit and attended the 18th Shangri-La Dialogue earlier this year, the first time since 2011 that China was represented by their Defence Minister. I attend the Beijing Xiangshan Forum regularly and later this month, on their invitation, I will attend the 7th Military World Games Opening Ceremony and speak at the 9th Beijing Xiangshan Forum.

Both China and Singapore have agreed in principle to step up defence cooperation and deepen defence ties further. To institutionalise and implement these efforts, both Ministries are actively working to conclude an enhanced Agreement on Defence Exchanges and Security Cooperation (ADESC), which was first signed in 2008. Among the items considered are formalising high-level dialogues and greater cooperation between the various Services, and academic and think-tank exchanges. We also want to increase the scale of existing bilateral exercises.

Looking ahead, 2020 marks the 30th anniversary of Singapore-China diplomatic relations. Both defence establishments are exploring ways to commemorate the anniversary including through our flagship bilateral exercises – Exercise Maritime Cooperation and Exercise Cooperation – next year.

These positive developments reflect the confidence and understanding of both countries towards each other, anchored on the shared goal of maintaining stability in our region through military cooperation. MINDEF and the SAF look forward to continue working with the Chinese defence establishment to build trust and cooperate in areas of mutual interest.