Singapore and China have made progress in bilateral defence ties in the past year under a four-point agreement, said Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen and his Chinese counterpart Chang Wanquan, as they pledged to further strengthen military ties between both countries.

“They also discussed China’s constructive role in the regional security architecture through its participation in platforms such as the Asean Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus), and the Shangri-La Dialogue,” Mindef said in a statement yesterday.

The four-point consensus – a key outcome of Dr Ng’s visit to China in November last year – saw both sides pledging to boost their defence relationship, based on mutual respect and accommodating each other’s security concerns for mutual trust.

… S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies analyst Li Mingjiang said Asean states that have maritime spats with China might be reluctant to give Beijing an opportunity to improve its regional security image through the hosting of the informal summit.

“At the same time, Asean countries, to different degrees, want to engage with China in the defence and security arenas so they can better understand its intentions, and help China better understand their positions and expectations.”