India and Singapore have agreed to further deepen security cooperation to collectively tackle the threat of terrorism.
In a joint statement after bilateral talks with her Singaporean counterpart Dr Ng Eng Hen in New Delhi, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, India and Singapore remain strongly committed to tackle transnational security threats.
On regional security, both Ministers reaffirmed the importance of maintaining maritime freedom of navigation and trade consistent with international law.
Both Ministers also discussed Singapore’s proposal to expand the Code of Unplanned Encounters at Sea to all ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting ADMM-Plus countries as well as to establish guidelines for air encounters between military aircraft, to reduce the risk of miscalculations.
In his statement, Dr Ng Eng Hen said, not only Singapore will be comfortable with berthing of Indian naval ships but will also encourage Indian Navy to use Changi port more often.
Appreciating India’s leading role in the Indian Ocean Region, Dr Ng agreed to India’s proposal for continuous and institutionalised naval engagements in their shared maritime space, including establishing maritime exercises with like-minded regional and ASEAN partners.
The Singaporean Defence Minister expressed his appreciation for India’s offer of its test ranges and infrastructure to Singapore for the conduct of testing and evaluation for Reseach and Development projects.
Dr Ng also expressed his appreciation for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s acceptance as keynote speaker for the 2018 Shangri-La Dialogue to articulate India’s vision for a stable Indo-Pacific region.
Singapore and India have also made progress in defence industry cooperation, with the signing of the terms of reference for the Defence Industry Working Group in August this year.
Both Ministers agreed that it will facilitate greater collaboration in aerospace, electronics and other areas of mutual interest between the defence industries of both countries.
Earlier, Dr Ng Eng Hen was given Tri-Services Guard of Honour at South Block lawns.
