The Department of Defense, United States (US) has entered into a bilateral, non-binding Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA) with the Singapore Ministry of Defence.
The arrangement will enable both the U.S. and Singapore to acquire industrial resources they need to quickly meet defense requirements, resolve unanticipated disruptions that challenge defense capacities, and promote supply chain resiliency.
The SOSA was signed on December 5, 2023 by Dr. LaPlante and Mr. Melvyn Ong, Permanent Secretary (Defence Development), Singapore Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) after details of the SOSA were discussed at the 18th Annual Defense Cooperation Committee (DCC) meeting held in Washington, DC last month.
Also, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Singapore’s Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen met in Washington, DC on December 6, and discussed the strengthening of the U.S.-Singapore partnership and recent efforts to deepen defense cooperation between both nations through the establishment of the SOSA.
Under the arrangement, the U.S. and Singapore agree to exchange reciprocal priority support for goods and services that promote national defense.
It also creates a streamlined mechanism for DoD and Singapore’s MINDEF to request expedited industrial resources to resolve unanticipated supply chain disruptions affecting national security requirements.
Noteworthy, SOSAs are an important mechanism for DoD to strengthen interoperability and are a proven supply chain tool for enabling a resilient, global defense ecosystem for the U.S. and key partners and allies.
Singapore is the seventeenth SOSA partner of the United States.
Other SOSA partners include Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
About the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy (OASD (IBP)
The OASD(IBP) works with domestic and international partners to forge and sustain a robust, secure, and resilient industrial base enabling the warfighter, now and in the future.
