By Massita Ahmad
SINGAPORE, March 8 (NNN-Bernama) — The introductory visit of Chief of Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) Admiral Abdul Rahman Ayob to Singapore underscores the warm and long-standing bilateral defence relationship between the two countries, said Singapore’s Ministry of Defence (Mindef).
In its website, Mindef said Abdul Rahman was in Singapore for three days from March 5 where he called on the republic’s Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen on Tuesday.
During their meeting, Dr Ng and Abdul Rahman reaffirmed the importance of maintaining strong ties between the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and RMN, and discussed defence cooperation on common security challenges in the region.
He also called on Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General Melvyn Ong and Chief of Navy Rear- Admiral Aaron Beng after inspecting a Guard of Honour at Mindef.
As part of his visit, the ministry said Abdul Rahman visited the RSS Singapura-Changi Naval Base Monday, where he toured the RSN’s Formidable-class Frigate RSS Tenacious, and other training facilities there.
“The RSN and RMN interact regularly through bilateral exercises, visits, professional exchanges, cross attendance of courses, as well as through multilateral platforms such as the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) and the Malacca Straits Patrol.
“These interactions have strengthened the mutual understanding and professional ties between the two navies,” said Mindef.
Separately on his Facebook page, Dr Ng said that during their call, he congratulated and welcomed Abdul Rahman for his recent appointment as the Chief of Royal Malaysian Navy.
Abdul Rahman was appointed as the new RMN chief effective January 27.
“We discussed the growing tensions in our region, and reaffirmed the need for strong bilateral ties, the Five Power Defence Arrangements and ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting for stability. Both navies will step up cooperation,” he wrote.
Dr Ng also appended his page with photos related to Abdul Rahman’s visit.
— NNN-BERNAMA