India, Singapore reaffirm ties at Defence Ministers' Dialogue

New Delhi [India], Nov 20 (ANI): Indian Minister of Defence Nirmala Sitharaman and her Singaporean counterpart Dr. Ng Eng Hen co-chaired the 3rd Defence Ministers' Dialogue (DMD) between India and Singapore on Tuesday.
The DMD commenced after both countries signed the revised Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) in 2015 to further strengthen the long-standing defence relationship between the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and the Indian Armed Forces.
Earlier in the day, Dr. Ng attended the final sea phase of the 25th edition of the Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise - SIMBEX on board INS Shakti.
The multidimensional exercise witnessed participation of ships, submarines a well as aircraft from both sides and live firings at sea.
Both Ministers complimented all personnel participating in the milestone event and for making it a success which is a testament of the long-standing ties between the armed forces of the two countries.
They also commended the conclusion of the Navy Implementing Arrangement Concerning Mutual Coordination, Logistics and Services Support in June 2018, which, together with the Navy Bilateral Agreement, concluded in November 2017, have expanded and deepened bilateral naval cooperation.
Dr Ng expressed appreciation for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's keynote address at the 2018 Shangri-La Dialogue, wherein PM Modi articulated India's vision for the Indo-Pacific region. In this regard, Singapore strongly supports India's deep engagement with ASEAN member states participating in patrols along the Straits of Malacca with Singapore and looks forward to a inaugural conduct of the trilateral maritime exercise with Thailand in the Andaman Sea.
Sitharaman affirmed India's belief that disputes should be resolved through peaceful means, and in accordance with the universally recognised principles of international law. Both Ministers agreed on the importance of international cooperation in tackling transnational security threats and in particular measures to collectively tackle the threat of terrorism.
They also commended the progress in defence technology collaboration under the auspices of the lndia-Singapore Defence Technology Steering Committee and the India-Singapore Defence Industry Working Group. These joint R&D collaborations included areas such as Combat Care and Vehicle Armour.
The Ministers expressed satisfaction at the deepening defence ties between India and Singapore and reaffirmed their commitment to support further initiatives that would promote stability to the region.
The 4th edition of DMD is likely to held in Singapore next year. (ANI)