Singapore, China agree to set up high-level defense hotline

Li Shangfu, left, shakes hands with Ng Eng Hen in Singapore on June 1. Photographer: Lionel Ng/Bloomberg (Bloomberg)

By Philip J. Heijmans

(Bloomberg) — China and Singapore agreed to work toward establishing a secure defense telephone link for high-level communications, as the two nations seek to bolster ties amid rising regional tensions.

Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu laid the groundwork for the hotline in a meeting in the city-state on Thursday with his Singaporean counterpart, Ng Eng Hen.

Li Shangfu, left, shakes hands with Ng Eng Hen in Singapore on June 1. Photographer: Lionel Ng/Bloomberg (Bloomberg)

“High-level, open lines of communication are important for strengthening mutual understanding and trust,” Singapore’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The announcement of the hotline comes ahead of a major defense conference in Singapore this weekend that will draw hundreds of delegates including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. China has spurned a US request for a meeting between their defense chiefs.

China has previously said the US must lift sanctions imposed on its top general in 2018 for overseeing an arms purchase from Russia before such a meeting could take place.

—With assistance from Yanping Li.

©2023 Bloomberg L.P.