India-Singapore Defence Ministers’ Dialogue (DMD)

First ever Defence Ministers’ Dialogue (DMD) was held in June, 2016 between India and Singapore. The Dialogue was co-chaired by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his Singapore counterpart Dr. Ng Eng Hen. In this, India and Singapore have agreed to enhance the scale of existing bilateral military interaction and decided to expand the interaction between the armed forces.

Important Facts: India-Singapore Defence Relations

• In 2003, a Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) was signed between India and Singapore. During the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Singapore in November 2015, defence cooperation was identified as a key sector under the India-Singapore Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership.
• As a matter of fact, the year 2015 marked the 50^th anniversary of defense relationship between India and Singapore which was established in 1965.
• The two countries also revised the Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) in 2015 and agreed to convene an annual Singapore-India Defence Ministers’ Dialogue (DMD) as part of the revised DCA.
• The revised DCA includes deeper cooperation on maritime security and collaboration between defense industries.
• India considers Singapore as a key partner for its “Act East” foreign policy. Last year, the two countries upgraded their relationship to the level of a strategic partnership.
• The first Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX) was held in 1994.The air forces of both the countries have together conducted 11 bilateral exercises since 2004, while the two armies have conducted joint exercises since 2005.
• In May 2016, both countries also had convened the first meeting of their Defence Industry Working Group. Both sides agreed to set up industry level working mechanisms to foster cooperation in aerospace, electronics and other areas of mutual interest.

What are the significant outcomes of the recent dialogue?

India and Singapore agreed to enhance the scale of existing bilateral military interaction and decided to expand the interaction between the armed forces.
Besides, both ministers issued a joint statement to strongly condemn terrorism and renewed their commitment to cooperate in counter-terrorism efforts. The statement also emphasized the importance of safeguarding maritime security in international waterways, right of passage and overflight, unimpeded commerce and access to resources as per the recognized principles of international law.

Both countries also agreed to facilitate cooperation between Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Singapore research agency on research-oriented projects. They also agreed to collaborate between industries under ‘Make in India’ initiative. It is to be noted that in 2006, the India-Singapore Defence Technology Steering Committee was set up. Under this both sides have undertaken several joint research projects in a wide spectrum of mutually-beneficial areas.

Furthermore, both the countries reaffirmed India’s vital role in the security of the Asia-Pacific region and also agreed that they would work towards the renewal of training arrangements which are set to expire for Air Force and Army in 2017 and 2018 respectively.