On April 7-8 Chief of Defence of the Republic of Singapore Vice Admiral Aaron Beng paid the first-ever official visit to Lithuania. He discussed security situation in the respective regions with Chief of Defence of Lithuania Gen Raimundas Vaikšnoras.
Meeting with Minister of National Defence Dovilė Šakalienė, he expressed delight with the decision to build patrol vessels in Lithuania praised capabilities of the shipyard. Minister thanked Vice Admiral for a frank and constructive dialogue and promised to follow on in May at the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore, the primary defence conference in Asia.
“We have focussed significantly on the security situation in our regions and strengthening of the bilateral cooperation. We have also discussed experience exchange in the area of strategic communications and models of public engagement in total defence. We expect to develop the defence industry cooperation too. Singapore is a leader in innovation and a new cooperation opportunity. We also wish to expand our partnership in cyber security,” said Minister of National Defence Dovilė Šakalienė meeting with Chief of Defence of Singapore.
Senior Enlisted Leader of the Singapore Armed Forces Sgt Maj Hock Guan Chua who arrived with the guest delegation met with Lithuanian counterpart Sgt Maj Darius Masiulisto discussed their areas of responsibility.
After the formal meeting, the Signapore military delegation was accompanied by Commander 1st Division Brig Gen Aurelijus Alasauskas visited Duke Vaidotas Infantry Battalion in Rokantiškės were they were briefed on the Continuous Mandatory Initial Military Service intake procedure and course of the service, as well as daily routines and housing infrastructure. The guests also familiarized with the Lithuanian Armed Forces drone capability, discussed potential integration of virtual training systems and exercise environment simulations systems used by the Singapore Defence Force in the Lithuanian conscript training as an alternative to training ground activities.
The guests from Singapore also met with Chief of the Defence Staff Lt Gen Remigijus Baltrėnas and command leaders at the Lithuanian Armed Forces Defence Staff Headquarters and briefed them on the development prospects and reserve training systems of the Singapore Defence Force. The guest delegation also received a briefing on Lithuania’s experience in countering disinformation from Analyst Ingrida Norkutė at the Lithuanian Armed Forces Strategic Communication Department.
Photo credits: Lithuanian Armed Forces
