The United States (US) Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III met Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen and other Southeast Asia Defence Ministers as well as their representatives at an informal Southeast Asia-US Defence Ministers' meeting held on the sidelines of the 21st Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) today.

During the meeting, Secretary Austin spoke about sustaining a rules-based regional security environment and reaffirmed the US' strong commitment to the region. He said that the US would continue its engagement with the Southeast Asian region and enhance defence cooperation amongst ASEAN countries, including through the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM)-Plus, to tackle shared security challenges in the Indo-Pacific.

Dr Ng welcomed the US' commitment to engage with ASEAN, and reaffirmed Singapore's long-standing support for the US' presence in the region. Dr Ng also looked forward to strengthening cooperation with the US, including through the ADMM-Plus, to promote peace and stability in the region.