Secretary of War Pete Hegseth today welcomed his counterpart from Singapore, Defense Minister Chan Chun Sing, to the Pentagon to discuss ongoing military-to-military cooperation and shared security interests in the Indo-Pacific region.
"Singapore has been an anchor of U.S. friendship and presence in the region," Hegseth said. "Our relationship has been crucial to regional stability and maintaining deterrence in the Indo-Pacific."
The U.S. and Singapore, Hegseth said, train together in a variety of exercises across multiple domains, including the naval Exercise Pacific Griffin, the annual Tiger Balm exercise held since 1980, Commando Sling, and Valiant Mark.
This week, the U.S. and Singapore will also participate in Exercise Forging Sabre at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho.
"The United States is proud that more than 1,000 of your warriors train in our country each year, and we look forward to welcoming Singapore's F-35 pilots in the years ahead," Hegseth said.
Singapore has the second-largest permanent foreign military training presence in the continental United States, with almost 1,000 Singaporean armed forces personnel training at any one time.
"That has allowed us to plant the seeds for generations of young men and women to work together, to grow up together, to build the trust that's so necessary for us to work together," Chan said.
While in the U.S., Chan will visit troops participating in Forging Sabre in Idaho and the F-35 production facility in Fort Worth, Texas.
Singapore has agreed to purchase 20 F-35 aircraft, including 12 F-35B, the vertical takeoff and landing version, and eight F-35A, the conventional version. The first of those should be delivered in 2026.
"We look forward to Singapore flying this state-of-the-art aircraft very soon," Hegseth said.
Singapore pilots will also train on the F-35 inside the United States at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Arkansas, something Chan said he looks forward to.
"We also want to thank you for allowing our new detachment to be based out [of] Ebbing, Arkansas, where our F-35 will be based, and then I'm sure that will start another journey, together, where a new generation of servicemen will train together," he said. "Thank you very much for your partnership, and we look forward to working closely with you and your team to advance our shared interests."