U.S. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld arrives in Singapore

0 Comments | Asian Political News, June 7, 2004

SINGAPORE, June 4 Kyodo

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld arrived in Singapore on Thursday for a three-day trip to attend an annual Asia security conference and meet counterparts from Japan, South Korea, Australia and Singapore, who have gathered here for the event.

Rumsfeld, who flew in from Washington, told reporters traveling with him on his aircraft that the United States is on the verge of a major military transformation in Korea and Europe by changing from static defense to a more agile and capable posture in keeping with current times, major wire agencies reported.

He is here to give a speech on U.S. strategy in the Asia-Pacific on Saturday at the Shangrila Dialogue, a major security conference organized by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, which is attended by defense ministers, officials and military analysts.

He will meet Japanese Defense Agency chief Shigeru Ishiba, South Korean National Defense Minister Cho Young Kil, Australian Defense Minister Robert Hill and Singapore Defense Minister Teo Chee Hean.

He is expected to try to garner support for U.S. policy in Iraq and also address issues such as the Korean Peninsula and clarify a controversial U.S. initiative to promote security in the busy and pirate-infested Strait of Malacca.

The proposal, when it was first aired, had roused vehement opposition from Indonesia and Malaysia, which straddle the strait, and are against U.S. navy patrols of the waters over the straits, over which they exercise jurisdiction.

On Friday morning, Rumsfeld he will visit Singapore's Changi Naval Base and tour the USS Essex, a helicopter carrier, which is berthed there and meet U.S. marines and other personnel here. He is expected to leave Singapore on Saturday for a trip to Bangladesh.

Singapore is one of the United States' closest allies in the region, and has an agreement with the United States since 1991 allowing U.S. navy ships to call at its ports for repair, refueling and replenishment and for U.S. military jets to be deployed here on a rotational basis.