Singapore, China deepen defence ties, plan larger military exercises including joint navy drill

The commitment comes after a meeting between Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe and his counterpart Ng Eng Hen in the city state

Few Southeast Asian nations – especially those with strong United States security ties, such as Singapore – engage with the Chinese navy bilaterally

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China’s Defence Minster Wei Fenghe (right) and his Singaporean counterpart Ng Eng Hen. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:53pm, 29 May 2019Updated: 12:56pm, 30 May 2019

Singapore and China have agreed to a “substantial programme” to deepen military ties after a Wednesday meeting between the two countries’ defence chiefs.

Among the proposed enhancements to an existing defence cooperation agreement is a second bilateral naval drill to be held next year, after the countries held a similar drill in 2015.

These exercises are significant given few other Southeast Asian countries – especially those maintaining strong security ties with the US, such as Singapore – engage with the People’s Liberation Army Navy on a bilateral basis.

The navies of China and the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) countries held their first joint drill last October. The Chinese navy held another set of drills with six regional countries in April.

Collin Koh, a maritime security analyst with Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said the development was “expected” as Beijing sought to enhance and broaden engagement with its Southeast Asian neighbours.

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