S'pore, KL to beef up defence ties

SINGAPORE and Malaysia reaffirmed their friendship on Monday night and agreed to beef up bilateral defence cooperation.

Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen met his Malaysian counterpart Hishammuddin Hussein at a dinner held at the Fullerton Bay Hotel.

Also present were Malaysia's High Commissioner to Singapore, Datuk Husni Zai Yaacob; the Secretary-General of the Malaysian Defence Ministry, Datuk Sri Dr Haji Ismail Haji Ahmad; Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Chief of Defence Force Ng Chee Meng; Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) Chief of Defence Force, Tan Sri Datuk Sri Zulkifeli Mohd Zin; and SAF Chief of Army Ravinder Singh.

Mindef said in a statement on Monday that Datuk Seri Hishammuddin's four-day visit underscores the bilateral ties between Singapore and Malaysia.

It said SAF and MAF share a long history of cooperation, and interact regularly through bilateral exercises like the Semangat Bersatu land exercise. Such interactions "have contributed significantly towards deepening the mutual understanding and camaraderie among personnel from the two armed forces".

Mr Hishammuddin will visit the Singapore Airshow 2014, which starts today. He will also call on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean and other Cabinet ministers.

Dr Ng also met Myanmar Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services and Commander-in-Chief (Army) Vice-Senior General Soe Win on Monday. Vice-Senior General Soe Win is here on a four-day introductory visit and will also attend the airshow.

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