Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd and Singapore Prime Minister, Lee Hsieng Loong, have met in Singapore to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to strengthen bilateral defence ties.

A joint statement by the Prime Ministers said that the pact aims to enhance the defence relationship between the two countries through ‘expanding cooperation and sharing resources to develop military expertise’.

In individual statement from Singapore’s Defence Ministry specified that ‘both countries will cooperate through exercises and operations, in areas such as humanitarian and disaster relief, search and rescue and peace support’.

The pact also promotes cooperation in defence technology research and calls for annual meetings between the two defence ministries.

Singapore and Australia have been partners in the Five Power Defence Agreement since 1971.

By Daniel Garrun