PM Lee, Trump renew key defence pact on US use of Singapore air, naval bases

New York/Singapore

PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong and US President Donald Trump on Monday (Tuesday morning, Singapore time) renewed a key defence pact that allows American forces to use Singapore's air and naval bases, extending it by another 15 years to 2035.

Both leaders lauded the close relationship between Singapore and the US as they signed an amendment to the "1990 Memorandum of Understanding Regarding United States Use of Facilities in Singapore", a landmark agreement which underpinned America's security presence in the region for almost 30 years.

In his brief remarks before the signing, Mr Lee said the agreement "reflects our very good cooperation in defence matters between the US and Singapore, and also the broader cooperation we have in so many other fields - in security, in economics, in counter-terrorism, and in culture and education, as well".

He added that Singapore is "very happy" with the relationship with the US, and the hope is to grow this further. "We hope that it will also be a means for the US to deepen its engagement in South-east Asia and in the Asia-Pacific region."

Mr Trump said the US was "close friends" with Singapore, and he and Mr Lee had gotten to know each other very well. "We have an extraordinary relationship with Singapore and with the prime minister," he said.

The 1990 MOU was signed by Singapore's late founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and then US vice-president Dan Quayle, and was last renewed back in 2005.

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

Under it, the US has rotationally deployed fighter aircraft for exercises, refuelling and maintenance, as well as deployed Littoral Combat Ships to Singapore since 2013 and P-8 Poseidon aircraft since 2015.

The renewal underscores the support for the US presence in the region, which remains vital for regional peace, stability and prosperity, said Singapore's Defence Ministry (Mindef) in a statement.

Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen and US Defence Secretary Mark Esper acknowledged the "milestone renewal" of the 1990 MOU in an earlier phone call and reaffirmed the excellent and longstanding bilateral defence relationship, Mindef added.

Both sides discussed the progress of key initiatives, such as in defence technology and military-to-military cooperation.

Dr Ng thanked Mr Esper for the US' continuing support for the Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF's) overseas training in the US, said Mindef. The SAF uses air force bases such as Luke in Arizona and Mountain Home in Idaho as training locations.

Singapore and the US agreed to renew the pact when Dr Ng and then Acting Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan met ahead of this year's Shangri-La Dialogue in May.

The last renewal of the 1990 MOU was done in July 2005, when a Protocol of Amendment was concluded by then-Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean and then-US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, extending the agreement by 15 years.

In 2005, the Strategic Framework Agreement (SFA) elevated bilateral defence relations, recognising Singapore as a major security cooperation partner of the US.

Other than the 2005 Protocol of Amendment, the Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) was also signed under the SFA, providing for new areas of mutually beneficial cooperation.

The enhanced DCA signed in 2015 deepened cooperation in five areas: military, policy, strategic, technology, and non-conventional security challenges.

Both sides also agreed in 2015 to enhance cooperation in new areas such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, cyber defence, biosecurity and communications.

Mr Lee and Mr Trump's remarks after the signing also turned to economic ties, particularly Singapore's trade surplus with the US and its outsized investment in the country.

"In Singapore, you are our most important... investor and in America, as small as we are, we have US$55 billion worth of investment," Mr Lee said, adding that it generated 250,000 US jobs.

Mr Trump said: "We do tremendous trade with Singapore and we appreciate it very much."

The US president also lauded the "tremendous success" of his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore in June last year, thanking Singapore for hosting the summit and adding that the meeting was not given the credit it deserved.

Mr Lee replied: "We are happy that it has helped to turn the situation in Korea around and point it in the right direction, and we wish you every success in continuing to make progress in this very difficult task."

Also on Monday, Mr Lee accepted the World Statesman Award from the Appeal of Conscience Foundation, a New York-based interfaith group that promotes mutual acceptance and peace.

Singapore is ranked as the most religiously diverse country in the world, but its harmonious society did not come about by chance, said Mr Lee.

Rather, it worked hard to lay the foundation for religious harmony and then maintain it over the years, he said in a speech.

"We did not become so because Singaporeans are a uniquely virtuous people," said Mr Lee. "We created structures - constitutional, political, social - that discouraged intolerance, curbed chauvinism, and nudged social behaviour in positive ways, long before nudging became intellectually fashionable."