Overview

• On May 30, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth met Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing to reaffirm their longstanding defence relationship and mutual support.
• Hegseth also conferred with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, with both leaders emphasising the strength of bilateral ties and shared regional security goals.
• Officials highlighted the 1990 memorandum of understanding that grants US forces access to Singapore’s air and naval bases and underpins joint training programmes.
• Singapore’s facilitation of US rotational deployments, port calls and aircraft stopovers and Washington’s support for SAF training in the United States were praised as pillars of the strategic partnership.
• Hegseth will outline Washington’s “New Ambitions for Indo-Pacific Security” during the dialogue’s first plenary session on May 31.