A strong and continued American presence in Asia Pacific is important for regional peace and stability, United States Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) chairman John McCain said during a meeting with Defence Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen on Tuesday (April 4).

Dr Ng was in Washington for what he said was his first visit in the new Trump administration.

In the meeting, both sides also reaffirmed the "excellent and long-standing defence relationship" between Singapore and the US, the Ministry of Defence said in a press release on Wednesday (April 5).

Other high-profile meetings Dr Ng made include those with SASC Member Ted Cruz and and House Foreign Affairs Committee vice-chairman Paul Cook.

He also met former US Ambassador to Singapore and Atlantic Council Chairman Jon Huntsman.

Dr Ng on Tuesday night shared photos of his visit to Washington on his Facebook page.

"In this period of 'uncertainty and volatility', which US Congressmen and Senators described, we reached out to long-time friends of Singapore," he wrote.

He spoke of his meetings with these friends, who "appreciate the depth of the US-Singapore bilateral relations" and "assured me of their continued support for bilateral ties and offered many pieces of sound advice".