BEIJING : Singapore and China have signed a bilateral agreement on defence exchanges and security cooperation.

The agreement, which was signed in Beijing on Monday, will formalise on-going activities between MINDEF and the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

MINDEF says that it "marks a significant milestone in Singapore's bilateral defence relationship and is testament to the growing defence ties between Singapore and China".

Among the on-going defence activities between the two countries are exchanges of visits, attendance at courses and seminars, as well as port calls.

The new agreement also includes new areas of cooperation such as Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief.

The agreement was inked by Permanent Secretary for Defence Chiang Chie Foo and PLA's Deputy Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General (LG) Ma Xiaotian.

The two men signed the deal at the end of the inaugural China-Singapore Defence Policy Dialogue (DPD) which they both co-chaired.

As part of the DPD, Mr Chiang and LG Ma exchanged views on regional security and discussed defence exchanges.

Mr Chiang also called on Chinese Defence Minister, General Cao Gangchuan, and visited the PLA Academy of Military Science. - CNA/ch