Singapore, US reaffirm mutual counter-terror commitment

By Kirsten Han

SINGAPORE (AA) - The transnational threat of terrorism loomed large as an issue discussed between Singapore Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen and United States Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter ahead of a major security summit opening in Singapore this weekend.

Ng hosted Carter to breakfast Friday before visiting the Singapore Armed Forces Imagery Support Group (ISG).

While there, Carter was briefed on the ISG’s operations and their deployment to the Combined Joint Task Force Headquarters in Kuwait to contribute to the multinational counter-Daesh coalition.

Transnational terrorism has been high on the agenda in defense and security circles amid concerns that terrorist attacks are being coordinated across borders.

Ng highlighted the example of a terrorist attack in Jakarta in January this year, which left four civilians and four Daesh-affiliated assailants dead, saying that they had been planned in Syria.

Speaking to the media after the visit, Carter acknowledged Singapore’s role in the counter-Daesh coalition, and expressed appreciation for the intelligence cooperation between the Southeast Asian city-state and the U.S.

Singapore and the U.S. signed an enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement in December last year, allowing closer bilateral cooperation in areas including counter-terrorism.