United States Secretary of Defense Mark Esper discussed regional security issues, including the South China Sea, counterterrorism, and the importance of ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific with Singapore's defense minister. Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen and United States Secretary of Defense Mark Esper today reaffirmed their countries’ commitment to the "excellent and long-standing bilateral defense relationship and mutually-beneficial partnership.'' The Defense Department said Esper and Ng discussed regional security issues, including the South China Sea, counterterrorism, and the importance of ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific. Dr Ng and Esper also addressed the importance of "maintaining the momentum of bilateral cooperation initiatives" amid the pandemic, said MINDEF. "Both countries enjoy extensive defense interactions, including dialogues, military-to-military exchanges, training and cross-attendance of courses, and defense technology cooperation," said the ministry.

Source: The Standard August 31, 2020 04:30 UTC