Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and US Vice President Kamala Harris at a meeting in Singapore on August 23, 2021. (Photo: The Straits Times/VNA)

He noted that Singapore has assisted the US in carrying out the evacuation in Afghanistan – a mission that Washington is trying to complete by August 31. 

Vice President Harris affirmed the US’s enduring relationship with Singapore, Southeast Asia and to reinforce a shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

She also reaffirmed the US’s commitment to working with its allies and partners around the Indo-Pacific to uphold the rules-based international order, and freedom of navigation, including in the South China Sea (called the East Sea in Vietnam).

The US and Singapore reached security agreements that reaffirm America's presence in the region through "rotational deployments of US P-8 aircraft and littoral combat ships to Singapore," according to a fact sheet of the meeting shared by the White House.

Harris will give a speech on Tuesday to emphasize the importance of the partnership and areas of enhanced cooperation with Singapore, before leaving for Vietnam.

Singapore is not a US treaty ally, but remains one of its strongest security partners in the region with deep trade ties.