Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen visited troops from the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), who are participating in the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (Ex RIMPAC). The RSN’s Formidable-class frigate RSS Tenacious is participating in the exercise, held in waters off Hawaii, alongside the US and navies from 24 other countries^[1]. Hosted by the United States (US) Navy, the biennial Ex RIMPAC is the world’s largest multilateral maritime exercise. This is the sixth Ex RIMPAC that the RSN has participated in over the last 10 years.

Dr Ng also attended a reception on RSS Tenacious this afternoon (Singapore time). Present at the reception were a total of about 50 officers from the US, including Deputy Commander of the US Pacific Fleet, Rear Admiral Matthew Carter, and participating Southeast Asian navies. During the reception, Dr Ng noted the strong participation in Ex RIMPAC by ASEAN navies, with seven out of ten countries involved in the exercise^[2], and stressed the importance of Ex RIMPAC and other US regional engagement efforts in building trust and confidence amongst regional militaries. He said, “As 2018 ADMM Chair, Singapore is also heartened by the strong ASEAN participation in RIMPAC. This reflects the strong support that the US enjoys for its military-to-military engagement with ASEAN. And from ASEAN, a recognition of the important and vital role that the US continues to play in our region.”

Dr Ng is on a working visit to Honolulu, Hawaii from 1 to 4 August 2018 (Singapore time). As part of the visit, Dr Ng will visit the US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) Headquarters and attend the Ex RIMPAC closing ceremony on the US Navy aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson tomorrow (Singapore time).