The Philippines' Undersecretary of National Defence Cardozo Luna and Undersecretary for Defence Operations Cesar Yano both called on Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen at the Defence Ministry yesterday.

They were here for the 2018 South-east Asia Counter-Terrorism Symposium organised by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

At the meeting, both sides reaffirmed the warm and friendly defence relations between Singapore and the Philippines. They discussed the long-term nature of the terrorist threat in the region, including the need for both nations to remain vigilant and sustain counter-terrorism cooperation efforts. Dr Ng expressed his appreciation to Mr Luna for delivering the keynote speech at the symposium.

Earlier, Dr Ng hosted his Indonesian counterpart Ryamizard Ryacudu to breakfast. Mr Ryamizard, a retired general, delivered the opening address at the same symposium.

The ministers reaffirmed the close and longstanding bilateral defence ties between their countries and discussed ways to boost bilateral defence cooperation.

They also discussed the agenda for the upcoming Asean Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) and ADMM-Plus in Singapore, including plans to enhance counter-terrorism cooperation through Indonesia's Our Eyes Initiative.