The US Navy, underscoring the importance of "operating forward" amid tightening budgets and increasing threats to free seas, will station several of its new littoral combat ships in Singapore in coming years and is considering similar arrangements in the Philippines.
The Navy will increasingly focus on the strategic "maritime crossroads" of the Asia-Pacific region.
Bilateral military ties between the United States and Singapore have continued to grow since the two countries signed a strategic framework agreement in 2005. They have engaged in joint training, military exercises and ship visits.
