SINGAPORE - The Chief of the Royal Australian Navy was on Tuesday (June 28) conferred the Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Tentera) - or Meritorious Service Medal (Military) by President Tony Tan Keng Yam.

Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen presented the award to Vice-Admiral Timothy Barrett at an investiture held at the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) in the morning.

Mindef said the award was in recognition of Vice-Admiral Barrett's significant contributions in forging closer ties between the Royal Australian Navy and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN).

"Vice-Admiral Barrett promoted greater cooperation between both navies in bilateral and multilateral exercises, including Exercise Singaroo, Exercise Kadaku, Exercise Pacific Reach, and most recently, the Asean Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM)-Plus Maritime Security and Counter-Terrorism exercise that Singapore co-organised with Australia, Brunei and New Zealand," it added.

He also strongly supported the RSN's training in Australia.

According to Mindef, the Singapore Armed Forces and Australian Defence Forces share a long history of military cooperation, which take the form of bilateral and multilateral training exercises, operational cooperation and professional exchanges.

During his three-day visit to Singapore, Vice-Admiral Barrett called on Chief of Defence Force Major-General Perry Lim and Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Lai Chung Han.

He also inspected a Guard of Honour contingent at Mindef, and spoke at the Goh Keng Swee Command and Staff College on Monday.