Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Molan for his question and for his very strong and enduring support and commitment to our regional engagements. I also thank the opposition for their support for this very important visit.

Last month, I travelled to Japan, Singapore, Brunei and the Philippines to meet in person with my counterparts to discuss shared regional challenges, including our respective COVID-19 responses and some exciting new opportunities for our bilateral relationships. All engagements were warm and productive, and the visits in person were well received. Quite simply, there is no substitute for face-to-face meetings, albeit COVID safe.

It was a privilege to be the first defence minister to meet with the new Japanese defence minister, Minister Kishi. Together we set the direction for the next phase of our defence cooperation and new joint activities to address regional challenges. In Singapore, I met with Prime Minister Lee, Deputy Prime Minister Heng and my counterpart for defence, Dr Ng. Together we marked the 30th anniversary—a significant anniversary—of Singapore's military training in Australia, and we acknowledged our shared commitment to a secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. We also identified new and quite exciting opportunities for us to train and operate together. In Brunei, I met with his Majesty the Sultan, and the Second Minister of Defence, Pehin Halbi. We discussed very positive developments this year in our bilateral defence relationship and we also discussed important regional issues ahead of Brunei's year as the ASEAN chair in 2021. I concluded my travels with a visit to the Philippines, where I met again with Secretary of National Defense Lorenzana. We discussed our respective responses to COVID-19 and the role our militaries were playing, and we were also looking for new opportunities, which we identified, for us to do further work under—