Dr Ng Eng Hen has served as the Minister for Defence since 2011. He previously served as the Minister for Manpower from 2004 to 2008 and Minister for Education from 2008 to 2011, as well as the Leader of the House in Parliament from 2011 to 2015. Dr Ng is also the Chairman of SAFRA Board of Governors.

Professor Ralf Emmers is Dean of S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) and President’s Chair in International Relations, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. He completed his MSc and PhD in the International Relations Department of the London School of Economics (LSE). His research interests cover security studies, the international institutions in the Asia Pacific, and the security and international politics of Southeast Asia. Prof Emmers is the author and editor of 11 books and monographs. His authored books include Cooperative Security and the Balance of Power in ASEAN and the ARF (RoutledgeCurzon, 2003), Geopolitics and Maritime Territorial Disputes in East Asia (Routledge, 2010), Resource Management and Contested Territories in East Asia (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) and Security Strategies of Middle Powers in the Asia Pacific co-written with Sarah Teo (Melbourne University Press, 2018). He is also the co-editor of the forthcoming Oxford Handbook on Peaceful Change in International Relations (Oxford University Press, 2021).

Vice Admiral Wang Houbin was born in October 1962, Anhui Province. He joined the Chinese PLA Navy in 1979 and graduated from Naval Aviation Institute. He has successively served as pilot of Naval Aviation; Staff officer and branch director of the Headquarters of Naval Aviation; Staff officer, deputy director and director of the Operation Department of the Headquarters of the General Staff; Deputy Chief of Staff of East Sea Fleet; Chief of Staff of South Sea Fleet and Deputy Chief of Staff of the PLA Navy. He assumed his current position in December 2018.

Vice Admiral Wang Houbin studied in Naval Command College of China and Armed Forces Advanced Staff College of Italy and achieved a Master’s degree in Joint Operations.He was promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral in December 2019.

Date of Birth 9 July 1965

10/1985 to 11/1988 – academic studies and graduation in educational sciences, Bundeswehr University Hamburg

Admiral Karambir Singh assumed command of the Indian Navy on 31 May 2019 as the 24th Chief of the Naval Staff.

Admiral Karambir Singh is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla. Commissioned into the Indian Navy in July 1980, he earned his wings as a helicopter pilot in 1981 and has flown extensively on the Chetak (Alouette) and Kamov helicopters. He is a graduate of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington; College of Naval Warfare, Mumbai and has served as Directing Staff in both these institutions.

In his career spanning over 40 years, he has commanded Indian Coast Guard Ship Chandbibi, Missile Corvette INS Vijaydurg, as well as two Guided Missile Destroyers, INS Rana and INS Delhi. He has also served as the Fleet Operations Officer of the Western Fleet. Ashore, he has served at Naval Headquarters as the Joint Director Naval Air Staff, and as Captain Air and Officer-in-Charge of the Naval Air Station at Mumbai.

He has also served as member of the Aircrew Instrument Rating and Categorisation Board (AIRCATS).

Ambassador Ong Keng Yong is Executive Deputy Chairman of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He is concurrently Director of the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS) at RSIS. Mr Ong continues to hold the position of Ambassador-at-Large at the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is also Singapore’s Non-Resident High Commissioner to Pakistan and Non-Resident Ambassador to Iran. Mr Ong has been the Chairman of the Singapore International Foundation (SIF) since 2015. Mr Ong was High Commissioner of Singapore to Malaysia from 2011 to 2014. He served as High Commissioner of Singapore to India and concurrently Singapore’s Ambassador to Nepal from 1996 to 1998. Mr Ong served as 11^th Secretary-General of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), based in Jakarta, Indonesia, from January 2003 to January 2008.

Rear Admiral Christopher Smith, CSM, RAN, assumed the role of Deputy Chief of the Royal Australian Navy on 11 September 2020.

Rear Admiral Smith joined the Royal Australian Naval College in 1989. His seagoing appointments have included HMA Ships Stalwart, Parramatta (III), Brunei, Perth (II), Ipswich, Geraldton, Canberra (II), Anzac and Command of HMA Ships Gladstone, Darwin and Canberra (III). His shore appointments have included staff officer to the Chief of Defence Force, Deputy Director of Sailors’ Career Management, Director Navy Warfare Professional Requirements, 2015 Force Structure Review team, Commander Surface Force and most recently, Director General Littoral.

His operational deployments have included Operation HELPEM FREN in 2003, Operation CATALYST as the Australian Liaison Officer to the US Central Command Forward Headquarters in 2008 and the inaugural LHD operational deployment in Canberra (III) providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in support of Operation FIJI ASSIST 2016.

Rear Admiral Smith completed the Australian Command and Staff Course in 2004 and the US Naval War College in 2013. He holds a Masters of Management in Defence Studies, a Masters in Maritime Studies and a Masters of Arts (International Relations).

Tommy KOH is currently Professor of Law at NUS; Ambassador-At-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Rector of the Tembusu College at NUS; Chairman of the Governing Board of the Centre for International Law at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Special Adviser to IPS.  He is the Chairman of the International Advisory Panel of the Asia Research Institute (NUS) and Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the Master’s Degree on Environmental Management (NUS).  He is also the Co-chairman of the Asian Development Bank’s Advisory Committee on Water and Sanitation.   He is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the SymAsia Foundation of Credit Suisse (pro bono).

He had served as Dean of the Faculty of Law of NUS, Singapore’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, Ambassador to the United States of America, High Commissioner to Canada and Ambassador to Mexico. He was President of the Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea.  He was also the Chairman of the Preparatory Committee for and the Main Committee of the UN Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit).  He was the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy to Russia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.  He was the founding Chairman of the National Arts Council, founding Executive Director of the Asia-Europe Foundation and former Chairman of the National Heritage Board.  He was Singapore’s Chief Negotiator in negotiating an agreement to establish diplomatic relations between Singapore and China.  He was also Singapore’s Chief Negotiator for the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement. He acted as Singapore’s Agent in two legal disputes with Malaysia. He has chaired two dispute panels for the WTO. He is the Co‑Chairman of the China‑Singapore Forum and the Japan-Singapore Symposium.

Professor Koh has received awards from the Governments of Singapore, Chile, Finland, France, Japan, Netherlands, Spain and the United States.  Professor Koh received the Champion of the Earth Award from UNEP and the inaugural President’s Award for the Environment from Singapore.   He was conferred with honorary doctoral degrees in law by Yale and Monash Universities.  Harvard University conferred on him the Great Negotiator Award in 2014.

Paik Jin-Hyun is Professor of International Law at Seoul National University in Korea and was Dean of its Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS). He is also Judge of International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in Hamburg, Germany since 2009 and served as its President from 2017 to 2020. He is currently President of the Special Chamber of ITLOS in the case concerning the Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary between Mauritius and Maldives in the Indian Ocean. Judge Paik was Arbitrator in the “Enrica Lexie” Incident Case(Italy v. India) at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA). He currently serves as President of the Arbitral Tribunal in Dispute concerning Coastal State’s Rights in the Black Sea, Sea of Azov, and Kerch Strait (Ukraine v. the Russian Federation).

Professor Paik has specialized in international law and organization, law of the sea, and international dispute settlement. Over the past forty years, he has taught and conducted research in the fields of international law and relation in various places around the world. He also represented Korea in many international conferences and negotiations, including the United Nations General Assembly. Professor Paik is also lecturer for the UN Audiovisual Library of International Law. He has been active in promoting and disseminating international law, in particular to audiences in developing countries.

In 2015, Judge Paik was elected to the Institut de Droit International. He also served as President of the Asian Society of International Law (AsianSIL) from 2015 to 2017. He received Dr. iuris honoris causa on the occasion of the centennial of University of Hamburg in 2019. Professor Paik has written and edited over 130 articles and several books on international law and politics, law of the sea and Korea’s foreign and security policies, the latest of which includes Regions, Institutions and the Law of the Sea (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2013).

Senior Colonel Zhou Bo (retired) started his military service in 1979. He served in different posts in Guangzhou Air Force Regional Command. From 1993 he worked successively as staff officer, Deputy Director General of West Asia and Africa Bureau and then Deputy Director General of General Planning Bureau of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Ministry of National Defense of China,Chinese Defense Attaché to the Republic of Namibia and Director of the Centre for Security Cooperation in the Office for International Military Cooperation, Ministry of National Defense. He is now a senior fellow of Center for International  Security and Strategy Tsinghua University. Senior Colonel Zhou Bo has published extensively in English including Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy,Financial Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Australian, South China Morning Post, The Diplomat, Strait Times,China~US Focus and China Daily, etc.

Professor Geoffrey Till is Advisor to the Maritime Security Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore and currently holds the Dudley W. Knox Chair for Naval History and Strategy at the U.S. Naval War College. Previously Dean of Academic Studies at the UK Command and Staff College and Head of the Defence Studies Department of King’s College London, he is Emeritus Professor of Maritime Studies of King’s College London and Chairman of the Corbett Centre for Maritime Policy Studies. Since 2009 he has been a Visiting Professor at RSIS. In addition to many articles and chapters on various aspects of maritime strategy and policy defence, he is the author of a number of books. His most recent are Seapower: A Guide for the 21st Century, a forth expanded edition of which appeared in 2018 for Routledge. He is currently working on a number of other projects on maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region. His works have been translated into 12 languages.

Adm. Mike Gilday is the son of a Navy Sailor. A surface warfare officer, he is a native of Lowell, Massachusetts and a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy.  He holds master’s degrees from the Harvard Kennedy School and the National War College.

At sea, he deployed with USS Chandler (DDG 996), USS Princeton (CG 59), and USS Gettysburg (CG 64).  He commanded destroyers USS Higgins (DDG 76) and USS Benfold (DDG 65) and subsequently, commanded Destroyer Squadron 7, serving as sea combat commander for the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group.

As a flag officer, he served as commander Carrier Strike Group 8 embarked aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), and as commander, U.S. Fleet Cyber Command and U.S 10th Fleet.

His staff assignments include the Bureau of Naval Personnel; staff of the Chief of Naval Operations, and staff of the Vice Chief of Naval Operations.  Joint assignments include executive assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and naval aide to the President.
As a flag officer, he served in joint positions as director of operations for NATO’s Joint Force Command Lisbon; as chief of staff for Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO; director of operations, J3, for U.S. Cyber Command; and as director of operations, J3, for the Joint Staff.  He recently served as director, Joint Staff.

He has served on teams that have been recognized with numerous awards and is the recipient of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal (four awards), Legion of Merit (three awards), Bronze Star, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with Combat “V,” and the Combat Action Ribbon.

Gilday began serving as the 32nd Chief of Naval Operations August 22, 2019.

Admiral Pierre Vandier was born on 26th October 1967 in Toulon. He joined the Ecole Navale in Brest in 1987 and specialised in naval aviation.

Following his initial training deployment Jeanne d’Arc, he was assigned to the escort and patrol vessel Commandant Bory, involved in operations during the First Gulf War in 1991 (operation Artimon and in support of operation Daguet).

From summer 1992, he undertook fighter pilot training in Salon de Provence, Tours then Hyères, subsequently joining the frontline force at Landivisiau on Super-Etendard (Flotille 17F then 11F). He carried out multiple combat missions in Bosnia (1995/1997 – operation Salamander) and in Kosovo (1999 – operation Trident).

Converting to Rafale in 2001, he took command of the Flotille 12F, the first squadron of naval Rafale, from 2002 to 2004. He delivered introduction to service test flying of the new naval fighter and carried out multiple combat missions in Afghanistan during mission Agapante in 2004.

Following training at the Joint Defence College (ICD – 12th session), he served as Deputy Commander of Operations of the aircraft carrier “Charles de Gaulle” (2005-2007), a period during which the embarked air group’s aircraft were once again used in support of the NATO International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.

In summer 2007, he took command of the frigate Surcouf which included operation Thalatine, the rescue of the hostages held onboard the yacht Ponant in the Indian Ocean.

After qualifying in atomic engineering at the beginning of 2009, he became a programme delivery officer in the capability planning division in the Joint Military Staff. He was specifically in charge of the Rafale programme, and the NH90 and Tiger helicopter programmes.

In summer 2011, he became chief of operations for the African zone (J3) at the Joint Military Operations Centre (CPCO). He directed the crisis unit for operation Serval in Mali from January to July 2013.

At the end of July 2013, he took command of the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. It was deployed to the Indian Ocean twice, during winter 2013 on the mission Bois-Belleau, and in spring 2015 for mission Arromanches, during which the aircraft carrier supported operation Chammal in Irak.

In January 2017, he became coordinating authority for international relations (ALRI) at the Marine Nationale headquarters and was subsequently promoted to Rear-Admiral on the 1st September 2017. He was then designated deputy commandant for the Mediterranean maritime region, and commanding officer of the naval base in Toulon.

Appointed as Chief of the Military Cabinet of the French Minister of Defence on the 1st September 2018, he was then promoted to Vice-Admiral on 1st January 2020.

Selected to be Chief of the Naval Staff for the Marine Nationale, he will take the rank of Admiral on the 1st September 2020.

Admiral Vandier is an Officer of the French Legion of Honour and of the Maritime Merit. He holds the Cross of War in Foreign Theatres of Operations, the Cross of Military Valour, the Combatant’s Medal, the Aeronautics Medal and the National Defence Gold Medal.

He is a member of the 65th session of the High Military Studies Centre (CHEM) and of the 68th session of the Higher Studies in National Defence Institute (IHEDN).

Admiral Vandier is married and father of six children.

Admiral Yamamura Hiroshi
Chief of Staff, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force

EDUCATION (GRADUATION):

1984 National Defense Academy
1985 MSDF Officer Candidate School
1997 Master Course for Area Study, University of Tsukuba
2004 Commander Course, US Naval War College

MAJOR ASSIGNMENT:

2009 Commander, Escort Flotilla 4
2011 Deputy Director General, Administration Department, MSO
2012 Chief of Staff, CommanderFleet Escort Force
2013 Director, Defense Plans and Policy Department (J-5), JSO
2015 Commander, Fleet Escort Force
2016 Vice Chief of Staff, Maritime Staff Office
2019 Present Assignment

Admiral Tan Sri Mohd Reza bin Mohd Sany was born on 13th August 1963 in Kuala Lumpur. He joined the Navy on 1st May 1981 after completing his education at the Royal Military College. Admiral Tan Sri Mohd Reza assumed command as the 17th Royal Malaysian Navy Chief on 30th November 2018. Throughout his service, he has held a number of appointments ashore and at sea as well as Joint Services such as Deputy Chief of Navy, Joint Force Commander, Commander of Naval Region 1, Aide-de-Camp to the 14th Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, Assistant Chief of Staff (Human Resource) and Assistant Chief of Staff (Plans and Operations). His last appointment at sea was the Commanding Officer of KD LEKIU.

Admiral Tan Sri Mohd Reza has attended various professional and military courses throughout his career. These include Long Gunnery at INS Dronacharya, India, International Crisis Management Course at the Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations (IDFR), Kuala Lumpur as well as various other career and professional courses. He is a graduate of the US Naval Command Course, Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island and also a graduate of the National Defence University, Islamabad, Pakistan where he earned his Master of Science in Defence and Strategic Studies.

During his free time, Admiral Tan Sri Mohd Reza bin Mohd Sany likes to go hunting, fishing and loves outdoor activities. He is married to Puan Sri Maslina binti Ismail and blessed with five sons.