The Singapore military will soon be able to utilise India’s missile test range at Chandipur in Odisha. This was agreed at the 4th Defence Ministers Dialogue between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his counterpart Dr. Ng Eng Hen in Singapore on Wednesday.
“The Ministers commended the progress in defence technology collaboration. They witnessed the exchange of a Letter of Intent to register both sides’ commitment to conclude a Memorandum of Understanding to facilitate the use of Chandipur Integrated Test Range by the Singapore defence establishment,” the Defence Ministry said in a statement.
Mr. Singh also offered setting up of a joint test facilities under the Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme of India to which Dr. Ng agreed to explore opportunities for joint collaboration. “The Ministers also agreed to explore cooperation in the fields of artificial intelligence, geo-spatial data sharing and cyber security,” the Ministry stated.
On India’s deepening engagement with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Dr. Ng expressed support for New Delhi’s upcoming co-chairmanship of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM Plus) Experts’ Working Group on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR). “In this regard, both sides welcomed the conclusion of a Letter of Intent to reaffirm mutual commitment to explore deepening HADR cooperation in areas such as information sharing and capacity building,” the statement said.
In the maritime domain, the two Ministers reviewed the recently held inaugural edition of the Singapore-India-Thailand Maritime Exercise (SITMEX) in the Andaman Sea and agreed to conduct the exercise on a yearly basis. “This exercise underscores the shared responsibility of the countries to work together in keeping the sea lines of communications open and strengthens interoperability between the three countries,” the statement noted.
The Singapore military, due to space constraints, already utilises India’s military facilities for training and other purposes.
