SINGAPORE - Acting Secretary of the United States Navy Thomas B. Modly met Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen on Wednesday (Jan 15) and reaffirmed the excellent and longstanding bilateral defence relationship between the two countries, said the Ministry of Defence (Mindef).

They also paid tribute to the close partnership between the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and the US Navy.

Mr Modly is in Singapore for a two-day working visit, during which he also met the Chief of Defence Force, Lieutenant-General Melvyn Ong, and visited the Information Fusion Centre at the RSS Singapura-Changi Naval Base.

It is Mr Modly's first visit to Singapore in this appointment, which he took up in November last year.

At the meeting with Dr Ng at the Ministry of Defence, both sides discussed regional security developments.

Singapore has provided support for the US Navy over the last 30 years, under 1990 Memorandum of Understanding Regarding United States Use of Facilities in Singapore, said Mindef.

US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong renewed the landmark agreement last September in New York.

It facilitates US forces' access to Singapore's air and naval bases, and provides logistics support for its transiting personnel, aircraft and vessels.

The acting secretary's visit underscores the strong defence ties between the two navies, said Mindef.

They share a strong partnership and interact extensively through a wide range of bilateral and multilateral exercises, as well as through regular professional exchanges, it added.