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India, Singapore chalk roadmap in defense sector

IRNA

New Delhi, Oct 14, IRNA -- Chalking out a roadmap for greater 
bilateral cooperation in defense, India and Singapore on Monday 
initiated a comprehensive defense policy dialogue. 
According to media reports, the two countries signed an MoU on 
Monday evening which envisages enhanced armed forces joint exercises 
and a thrust on countering international terrorism. 
The MoU involves joint exercises between the Air Force and Army 
of the two countries for the first time and intelligence sharing. The 
two countries have been holding naval exercises for the last 10 years.
India`s Defense Minister George Fernandes said the most immediate 
of all concerns regarding peace and stability in Asia was the 
emergence of terrorism in Asia. "The activities of Al Qaeda and other 
related outfits worldwide, the emergence of Taliban in Afghanistan, is
one such example. Similarly, the appearance of radical fundamentalist 
tendencies in Southeast Asia manifested in the appeal of groups like 
the Jemmah Islamia (JI), the Abu Sayyaf group, Bali and Jakarta 
bombings, the arrest of Hambali in Thailand, is of direct concern to 
Southeast Asia." 
He added, "More specifically, the discovery of JI cells in a 
progressive and meritocratic and outward looking society like 
Singapore have underlined the need for greater international 
cooperation in the fight against terrorism." 
He said India and Singapore were both clear that terrorism cannot 
be associated with religion and both South and Southeast Asia have 
evolved syncretic traditions that have bound rather than divided 
communities. 
Singapore`s Defense Minister Teo Chee Hean, while delivering a 
lecture organized by the Institute of Defense Studies and Analyses, 
also emphasized on the development of a "counter-ideology" to combat 
terrorism. 
According to India`s Defense Ministry spokesman, both countries 
have initiated the defense policy dialogue which will function at the 
level of defense secretaries. 
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