Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Sasha Baker concluded her visit to Singapore today, after a series of important defense engagements. During her visit, Under Secretary Baker met with Singapore Minister of Defense Ng Eng Hen, Chief of Defense Force VADM Aaron Beng, and Permanent Secretary for Defense Development Melvyn Ong to discuss new opportunities to strengthen the U.S.-Singapore partnership.
Under Secretary Baker co-chaired the Strategic Security Policy Dialogue with Singapore's Permanent Secretary for Defense Chan Heng Kee, to further advance combined defense initiatives and discuss regional security issues. In addition to reviewing existing bilateral defense initiatives — including force posture cooperation and high-end air-to-air training — the two explored new opportunities for cooperation on topics including maritime domain awareness, emerging technologies, and cyber security. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to the close people-to-people ties and strong training relationship between our two Armed Forces.
During her visit, Under Secretary Baker also toured military facilities which support the U.S. security presence in Southeast Asia. She expressed appreciation for the role Singapore has played in facilitating frequent rotational deployments of U.S. Littoral Combat Ships and P-8 aircraft. Her visit underscored the important role the U.S.-Singapore defense partnership plays in bolstering our mutual commitment to a shared future of peace, security, and prosperity in the region.
