01/16/08
DEFENSE NEWS
Singapore’s Defense Minister Visits U.S.
By WENDELL MINNICK
TAIPEI — Singapore Minister of Defense Teo Chee Hean met with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates in Washington during a Jan. 13-18 visit. Gates and Teo discussed bilateral defense co-operation, Asian regional security and reconstruction missions in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Teo also met with Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte; the secretaries of the U.S. Air Force, Army and Navy; and with Deputy National Security Adviser James Jeffrey.
He also delivered a lecture on Asia’s evolving security architecture and the U.S. role in the region at the Statesmen’s Forum organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Teo then visited Boeing’s F-15 Eagle fighter production plant in Missouri, where Singapore’s F-15SG fighter was assembled.
“Minister Teo’s visit underscores the longstanding and close defense relations between Singapore and the United States,” a Singapore Ministry of Defence press release said. “Since the signing of the Strategic Framework Agreement between President Bush and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in July 2005, the bilateral defense relationship has progressed with new areas of cooperation across military, technology, and policy areas.”
