DEFENSE Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr and his Singaporean counterpart, Ng Eng Hen, on Wednesday signed a defense cooperation agreement aimed at further enhancing the relations of the two countries.
The Singaporean defense ministry announced the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) concerning defense cooperation in Singapore.
The Philippines’ Department of National Defense (DND) has yet to issue a statement about the agreement signing.
“The MOU serves as a framework to guide existing interactions and promote cooperation in areas of mutual interest such as military education and anti-terrorism, to foster closer people-to-people links,” the Singaporean defense ministry said in a statement.
The Singaporean ministry said the signing of the MOU “builds on the existing arrangement concerning the conduct of education, training assistance and support activities on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.”
The signing of agreement coincided with the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
During their meeting, Teodoro and Ng “reaffirmed the warm and friendly bilateral defense ties between Singapore and the Philippines.”
They also expressed their commitment to continue cooperation on the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) and ADMM-Plus fora, the Singaporean defense ministry added.
Teodoro’s delegation included Defense Undersecretary for Strategic Assessment and Planning Ignacio Madriaga, AFP chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr, Navy chief Vice Adm. Toribio Adaci Jr, and Defense Assistant Secretary for strategic assessments and international affairs Marita Yoro.
On the sidelines of the 21st International Institute for Strategic Studies Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore last month, Teodoro and Ng reaffirmed the “broad-based bilateral defense and security relations between their two countries,” the DND has said.
The two also vowed to “further strengthen their cooperation in areas of mutual interest such as regional security.”
