Earlier in the day, Mr Hegseth met his Singapore counterpart, Mr Chan Chun Sing.
During the breakfast meeting, they “reaffirmed the excellent and longstanding bilateral defence relationship and the mutually beneficial partnership between Singapore and the US, as anchored by the 1990 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Regarding United States Use of Facilities in Singapore,” said MINDEF.
The 1990 MOU was last renewed in 2019 between then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and US President Donald Trump.
Both men agreed on the importance of the US’ continued engagement in the Asia-Pacific, which is “vital for regional peace, stability and prosperity”.
Mr Hegseth also expressed appreciation for Singapore’s consistent support for the US’ military presence in and engagement of the region.
“This includes Singapore’s facilitation of rotations by US aircraft and vessels, including rotational deployments, port calls, and aircraft stopovers,” MINDEF said.
Mr Chan expressed appreciation for the US’ longstanding support for the SAF training in the US, as well as for the SAF’s technology access, including the Republic of Singapore Air Force’s acquisition and operationalisation of the F-35 aircraft, MINDEF said.
MINDEF said the US Defense Secretary expressed the country’s commitment to support the “SAF’s high-end training and technology access”.
Both men also discussed ways to further strengthen defence cooperation and exchanged views on global and regional security challenges.
STRONG COMMITMENT TO REGION
Mr Hegseth also met other Southeast Asian defence ministers and their representatives at an informal Southeast Asia-US defence ministers’ meeting held on the sidelines of the Shangri-la Dialogue on Friday.
During the meeting, Mr Hegseth spoke about common security challenges and reaffirmed the US’ strong commitment to the region, said MINDEF.
