SINGAPORE - Chief of the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) Mohd Asghar Khan met Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen on Wednesday, in a visit which “underscores the warm and longstanding bilateral defence relationship between Singapore and Malaysia”, said the Ministry of Defence.

As part of his two-day introductory visit to Singapore, General Asghar was on Tuesday morning hosted to a visit at Changi Air Base (East), where he viewed a static display of the F-15SG fighter aircraft.

On Wednesday morning, Gen Asghar inspected a guard of honour at the Ministry of Defence, and called on Chief of Defence Force Aaron Beng and Chief of Air Force Kelvin Khong.

Gen Asghar also called on Dr Ng on Wednesday afternoon, when both men reaffirmed the importance of maintaining strong ties between the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) and the RMAF, and discussed how to strengthen defence cooperation to deal with common security challenges in the region.

“The RSAF and the RMAF have enhanced mutual understanding and professional ties over the years through professional exchanges, visits, courses, fighter landaways, and bilateral search-and-rescue exercises such as Sarex Malsing,” said Mindef.

Fighter landaways refer to instances where jets land in another country’s base for a short while before returning, and have been historically used as part of a professional exchange and a gesture of friendship.

“Both air forces also cooperate on multilateral platforms such as the Five Power Defence Arrangements which play an important role in the regional security architecture.”