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| Littoral Combat Ships |
Speaking at the 10th IISS Asia Security Summit - also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue - Dr Gates said: "We're examining other ways for our two militaries to train and operate together to include pre-positioning supplies to improve disaster response, improving command and control capabilities and expanding training opportunities to help prepare our forces for the challenges both militaries face operating in the Pacific."
Littoral combat ships are speedy, lighter ships designed to operate in shallow waters. And Singapore is open to Dr Gate's proposal, said Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen in a doorstop interview after hosting a lunch for participating defence ministers.
"We have stated, as with others, that the US' strong presence and continued engagement in this area has been, and continues to be, a critical force of stability and progress for this region.
"In that spirit, we are open to his proposal for forward deployment of the littoral combat ships in this area so that it allows them to achieve that purpose of strong continued presence in Asia-Pacific region," said Dr Ng.
In his speech, Dr Gates - who is on his seventh and final vist to Asia in 18 months - emphasised the US' defence commitment to Asia, even in the face of America's fiscal troubles and war weariness after Iraq and Afghanistan. Singapore was one example he cited of how the US has not just maintained, but also enhanced, its bilateral relationships. The US military will be increasing the number of port calls, naval engagements and multilateral training efforts in the region, he added.
Acknowledging that sustaining a forward military presence is costly, Dr Gates said he had spent that last two years "carving out as much budget space as possible by cancelling troubled or unneeded weapons programs and culling excess overheads".
Dr Gates, who steps down on June 30, was confident key modernisation programmes of "particular importance" to US military strategy in Asia would rank highly, if not at the top of, future defence budget priorities. The US Navy and Air Force, for example, are working together to develop a new concept of operations - Air-Sea Battle - to ensure they are able to deploy, move and strike over great distances in defence of allies and vital interests.
Recognising the US defence engagement will "continue to play an indispensable role in the stability of the region", he said: "We've taken a number of steps towards establishing a defence posture across the Asia-Pacific that is more geographically distributed, operationally resilient, and politically sustainable."