The revised Agreement on Defence Exchanges and Security Cooperation (ADESC) is expected to be signed later this year, Singapore’s Defence Ministry (MINDEF) said in a media release on Wednesday (May 29).

This comes as Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen formally met his Chinese counterpart General Wei Fenghe on Wednesday, ahead of the latter’s attendance at the upcoming Shangri-La Dialogue. This is the first time since 2011 a Chinese defence minister will be at the Shangri-La Dialogue.

READ: China doesn’t want confrontation with US in South China Sea: Ng Eng Hen

“During the meeting, both ministers agreed on a substantial programme to deepen defence ties and step up bilateral engagements on various fronts,” MINDEF said.

“Both ministers discussed regional security and practical ways in which the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus could build confidence among militaries and avoid conflict.”

The ministers also welcomed the conduct of exercise cooperation involving both armies this year, and agreed for both navies to hold exercise maritime cooperation in 2020.

READ: Singapore, China reaffirm commitment to strengthen ASEAN-China defence cooperation

Another proposed exchange under the enhanced ADESC is the stepping up of high-level dialogues as well as academic and think-tank exchanges.

When asked about the significance of the proposed agreement given the climate of US-China tensions, Dr Ng said it wasn’t meant to be a “bellwether of anything”.

“We’ve always said we want good relations with all countries and what we’re doing with China is no different from what we previously do,” he said in an interview after the meeting.

“If anything, it reflects the bilateral confidence in each other and a willingness to deepen defence ties particularly because we have shared perspectives for a stable and inclusive region, especially for security matters.”

The ADESC was first signed in 2008, when defence ministries from both countries reaffirmed their close friendship and desire to strengthen defence exchanges and security cooperation.

Source: CNA/hz(aj)

Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-china-boost-defence-cooperation-military-exercises-11576402

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In a statement Sunday, the air force said it had dispatched H-6K bombers and Su-30 and Su-35 fighters, as well as other aircraft, for separate combat training missions in an unspecified area of the South China Sea and through the Miyako Strait between Okinawa and Miyako Island.

It did not say when the exercises took place, but Japan’s Defense Ministry said Friday that it had scrambled fighters after four H-6K bombers, two fighters and two information-gathering planes flew through the strait.

China is currently in the midst of a military modernization program heavily promoted by President Xi Jinping, who has overseen a shift in focus toward creating a more potent fighting force, including projects such as building a second aircraft carrier, integrating stealth fighters into its air force and fielding an array of advanced missiles that can strike air and sea targets from long distances.

The Chinese military has also seen its forces drill to extend their reach further into the Western Pacific with what it calls “regular” exercises.

While Beijing insists that these exercises are in line with international law and practice, and that its modernization program is not directed at any particular country, its moves in the disputed South China Sea and near Japanese islands has prompted concern.

In its statement, the air force said that the aim of sending Su-35 fighters over the South China Sea was to bolster its long-range combat capabilities under high-seas conditions.

Flying through the South China Sea and Miyako Strait, which sits to the northeast of self-ruled Taiwan, an island China claims as its own, accorded with international law and practice, the statement added.

“Air force exercises are rehearsals for future wars and are the most direct preparation for combat,” it said.

The more exercises China practices far from its shores, the better it will be positioned as “an important force for managing and controlling crises, containing war and winning battles,” it added.

Collin Koh, a specialist in regional naval affairs at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said that despite the harsh rhetoric, the talk of “combat training” mirrored past Chinese statements.

“This is not actually anything new — previous official statements by the Chinese political and military leadership had emphasized the need for training under realistic conditions, and in preparation for real war,” Koh noted.

The two recent drills come on the heels of a U.S. Navy “freedom of navigation operation” (FONOP) patrol Friday in the South China Sea, where a destroyer came within 12 nautical miles (22 km) of an artificial island China built in the strategic waterway.

Beijing accused the U.S. of “serious political and military provocation” after Friday’s patrol, the first by the United States since January.

Washington has lambasted Beijing for its man-made islands in the South China Sea, with some hosting military-grade airfields and weapons. The U.S. fears the outposts could be used to restrict free movement in the waterway — which includes vital sea lanes through which about $3 trillion in global trade passes each year — and has conducted several FONOPs in the area.

Beijing has disputed this claim, saying the militarization of the outposts — over which it claims absolute sovereignty — has been for self-defense purposes.

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea, and has built up a series of man-made outposts there. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei all have overlapping claims in the waters.

China’s navy is also expected carry out “combat exercises” in the South China Sea in the coming days, it said Friday. Those drills could involve the Liaoning, the country’s sole operating carrier, which is believed to be in the area after sailing through the Taiwan Strait last Wednesday.

The state-run Global Times newspaper quoted Song Zhongping, a military expert and TV commentator, as saying that ” the 2018 drills will be routine and will be held every month, unlike in previous years,” when they were usually held in the spring and autumn.

Source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/03/26/asia-pacific/chinese-air-force-drills-south-china-sea-western-pacific-calls-exercises-rehearsals-future-wars/#.Wro5P4jwZGM

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China have renewed military drills in the South China Sea

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