At the conference, Secretary Williamson held a number of bilateral meetings with his counterparts from the region including Vietnam, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei, Philippines, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Singapore.
During his meeting with Singapore Defence Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen, Secretary Williamson signed a Memorandum of Understanding that aimed to strengthen the deep and broad defence and security relationship the two countries enjoyed. Secretary Williamson also delivered an address at the plenary session of the conference entitled ‘Raising the bar for regional security cooperation’ where he emphasised the UK’s commitment to regional security cooperation and its robust support of a rules based international order.
To conclude his visit to Singapore, Secretary Williamson hosted Singaporean and international media representatives on-board the Royal Navy’s HMS Sutherland where he spoke about the UK’s commitment to enforcing international sanctions against North Korea; the Five Power Defence Arrangements and to ensuring free navigation in international waters.
Reference:
- About the International Institute of Strategic Studies
- About the Shangri-La Dialogue
- Speeches delivered at the Shangri-La Dialogue
- Defence Secretary outlines plans for Indo-Pacific security at global summit
- About HMS Sutherland
- Secretary Williamson’s plenary session speech:
- Secretary Williamson’s plenary session speech (Video)
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