New Defence Minister For Singapore
ON May 21, Singapore’s prime minister Lawrence Wong announced his first Cabinet lineup which saw Chan Chun Sing take over as the republic’s defence minister from his long-time predecessor, Ng Eng Hen’s retirement from politics after 14 years at the helm of Singapore’s military modernisation.
Chan served in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) from 1987-2011, holding various appointments throughout his career and rising to the rank of Major General, eventually serving as Chief of the Singapore Army from 2010-2011.
On May 27, the newly minted minister then conducted his first visit to high-readiness units in the SAF, observing routine readiness trainings from Singapore Army, Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) and Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS) units.
In the meantime, the 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue kicked off in Singapore on May 31, where Chan will host 40 ministerial-level delegates, over 20 chief of defence force-level delegates and more than 20 senior defence officials from a total of 47 countries. French president Emmanuel Macron and Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim both delivered speeches, this marks the first time a European leader gives the keynote address at the yearly security forum as Singapore and France commemorate 60 years of diplomatic relations.
Minister Chan engaged with his various counterparts from the Philippines, US, Japan, Brunei, Malaysia, and even the president of Timor-Leste. The 2024 Dialogue saw then US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin meet his Chinese counterpart Adm Dong Jun for talks. China typically sends its defence ministers to attend but instead dispatched a lower-level academic delegation from the People’s Liberation Army National Defense University this year, the first time China is not represented by its defence minister.
US-China military ties had deteriorated in recent months but Beijing had also declined to comment on Dong Jun’s absence or prospective bilateral talks beetween the two delegations. Media reports last November stated that Dong Jun had been allegedly subject to an anti-corruption investigation though the speculations were highly unlikely.-shp/adj/dl (Pix:SG MINDEF)