Warm Maritime Relations Reaffirmed at the 9th China-Singapore Senior Officials' Committee Meeting

The Chief Executive of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) Mr Andrew Tan is leading an 8-member Singapore delegation to Shanghai for the 9th China-Singapore Senior Officials' Committee Meeting (SOCM) from 7 to 10 April 2015.

The SOCM is an annual meeting between officials of MPA and the Ministry of Transport of the People's Republic of China under the ambit of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Maritime, Shipping and Port Cooperation. The SOCM provides senior maritime officials from Singapore and China an opportunity to exchange views on maritime matters of common interest and to further bilateral cooperation. 2015 marks the start of the second decade of cooperation under the SOCM.

The meeting was co-chaired by Mr Tan and his Chinese counterpart, Mr Yang Zan, Director-General, Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Transport. Several topics were discussed, including the Co-operative Mechanism on Safety of Navigation and Environmental Protection in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, ongoing International Maritime Organization (IMO) issues such as Ballast Water Convention, maritime research and development (R&D) cooperation, piracy and armed robbery, as well as China's initiative of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

Mr Andrew Tan said, "The 9th SOCM provides a good platform for cooperation on maritime issues between Singapore and China. We also renewed and strengthened the warm maritime relations between our two countries."

As part of the visit, the MPA delegation also visited the Yangshan Port and Yangshan Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) Centre to learn about the Shanghai port's operations.

9th China-Singapore Senior Officials' Committee Meeting

Visit to Yangshan Maritime Safety Administration Vessel Traffic Service Centre

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