(Press Release)
October 28, 2026
Ministry of Defense
On October 28, 2026, Minister of Defense Koizumi, who was visiting the Philippines to attend the 13th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus), held a Defense Ministers’ Meeting with Singapore’s Minister for Defence Chan. An overview of the meeting is as follows.
- At the outset, Minister Koizumi stated that, amid an increasingly severe security environment, he would like to further strengthen defense cooperation with Singapore, an important partner with which Japan works together to address challenges facing the region and the international community. In response, Minister Chan stated that Japan is a trusted partner and that Singapore would continue to work closely with Japan.
- The two Ministers welcomed the reciprocal port calls by vessels of both countries and the conduct of the first bilateral exercise, “SINGAPAN,” in August, during this milestone year marking the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Singapore. They also appreciated close communication maintained between the two countries’ defense authorities , including the early implementation of the regular ministerial consultations agreed upon at their meeting in May.
- The two Ministers also concurred that, under their leadership, they would continue discussions and further promote defense cooperation, including through deeper navy-to-navy cooperation, while also exploring potential army-to-army and air force-to-air force cooperation, as well as cooperation in the field of defense equipment.
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Furthermore, Minister Koizumi, bearing in mind that Singapore will assume the ASEAN Chairmanship next year, stated that Japan would like to deepen cooperation with Singapore not only bilaterally but also in multilateral frameworks, thereby contributing to peace and stability in the region. Minister Chan expressed his strong agreement with Minister Koizumi’s remarks.