Singapore (VNA) – Singapore and China on June 1signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) under which the two countries will work toward establishing a Secure Defence Telephone Link for high-level communications between their defence leaders.
According to Singapore's Defence Ministry, Minister Ng Eng Henand his China counterpart Li Shangfu witnessed the signing of the MOU after they co-chaired the secondSingapore-China Defence Ministers' Dialogue (DMD).
During the dialogue, both sides reaffirmed their commitmenttowards strengthening defence cooperation as agreed upon under the enhanced Agreementon Defence Exchanges and Security Cooperation (ADESC) signed in 2019. They alsodiscussed global and regional security issues, and practical ways to strengthenASEAN-China defence cooperation.
As part of his visit to Singapore, the Chinese Defense Minister willalso be one of the key speakers at this year's Shangri-La Dialogue, where he will speak at a plenary session titled "China's NewSecurity Initiatives".
The 20th Shangri-La Dialogue will take place from June 2-4, and it is expected toattract over 550 delegates from more than 40 countries./.