Ng Eng Hen meets top Chinese general Zhang Youxia in Beijing, reaffirms warm ties
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Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen met Chinese General Zhang Youxia in Beijing on Sept 12 to reaffirm bilateral defence ties and discuss security issues.
PHOTO: NG ENG HEN/FACEBOOK
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BEIJING - Singapore’s Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen met China’s top-ranking military official, General Zhang Youxia, in Beijing on Sept 12 to reaffirm bilateral defence ties and discuss ways to deepen practical cooperation.
Dr Ng is on a three-day trip to the Chinese capital to attend the 11th Xiangshan Forum, a high-level international security conference akin to Singapore’s Shangri-La Dialogue.
This is his first bilateral meeting with Gen Zhang, who is the first-ranked of two vice-chairmen of the Central Military Commission, China’s top military decision-making body headed by President Xi Jinping.
Gen Zhang, 74, is seen as a close ally of Mr Xi, and one of the few senior military officers with combat experience, from the Sino-Vietnamese war of 1979. He was appointed to a new term in the Communist Party of China’s powerful Politburo in 2022 despite being over the unofficial retirement age of 68.
Singapore’s Ministry of Defence (Mindef) said on Sept 12 that Dr Ng and Gen Zhang reaffirmed the longstanding, warm and friendly defence relations between Singapore and China.
They discussed ways to deepen leadership interactions, practical cooperation and people-to-people exchanges.
They also exchanged views on global and regional security developments, and the need to promote dialogue to maintain peace and security in the region, said Mindef.
Of their meeting at the Bayi Building, where military diplomatic activities are held, China’s Ministry of Defence said that Gen Zhang hopes both militaries will maintain a high level of interaction, deepen practical cooperation such as through combined exercises and training, and achieve new progress in defence ties.
On Sept 12, Dr Ng also visited the People’s Liberation Army National Defence University, where he met senior Chinese military officers and provincial officials, and exchanged views on geopolitical developments, US-China relations and Singapore’s defence policy, said Mindef.
Singapore and China maintain regular exchanges between the defence establishments.
Earlier in September, the two navies held a five-day bilateral exercise
Dr Ng is expected to speak at the Xiangshan Forum’s first plenary session, titled Security Cooperation and Asia-Pacific Prosperity and Stability, on Sept 13.
More than 500 participants from official delegations are expected at 2024’s event.
Topics such as US-China relations, South China Sea disputes and the Ukraine war were discussed on the first day of the forum on Sept 12, featuring panels with Chinese and international speakers.
These issues are expected to receive further airing on Sept 13.
