Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III met today with Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Minister of Defense Ng Eng Hen on the margins of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
During Secretary Austin's separate bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Wong and Minister Ng, the officials reaffirmed the longstanding defense partnership between the United States and Singapore, which is rooted in both countries' shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific region. They discussed opportunities to expand bilateral force posture cooperation to support deeper interoperability and address shared challenges. They also underscored the importance of ongoing efforts to expand joint training, and they committed to further enhance high-end training and interoperability.
Following their bilateral meeting, Secretary Austin and Minister Ng witnessed the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit and the Singapore Ministry of Defence, which will help advance defense innovation cooperation and the adoption of emerging dual-use technologies.
The officials reaffirmed their commitment to advancing the historic momentum in the U.S.-Singapore defense partnership.
