On Monday, January 7, 2008, in Beijing, Singapore and China signed a bilateral agreement on defense exchanges and security cooperation, formalizing on-going activities between Singapore’s Ministry of Defense (MINDEF) and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). MINDEF says that it “marks a significant milestone in Singapore’s bilateral defense relationship and is a testament to the growing defense ties between Singapore and China.” The new agreement, written by Permanent Secretary for Defense Chiang Chie Foo and PLA’s Deputy Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General (LG) Ma Xiaotian, also includes new areas of cooperation such as Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief. The deal was signed at the end of the inaugural China-Singapore Defense Policy Dialogue (DPD).
Source: Central News Agency, January, 7, 2008