OTTAWA - Canada is seeking a deal with Singapore to establish a military staging post there as part of its effort to support the United States' pivot towards Asia to counter a rising China.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay is telling The Canadian Press about the plan from Singapore, where he's at a major meeting of defence leaders.

U.S. Defence Secretary Leon Panetta is expected to give more details of the Pentagon's renewed military focus on Asia during a major speech in Singapore on Saturday.

MacKay says he detects great concern among his Asian counterparts about China's military muscle-flexing.

The minister says a military hub in Singapore would allow Canada to respond more effectively to a natural disaster or other crisis in South Asia.

Canada has similar arrangements with Kuwait and Jamaica, to give it military footholds in the Middle East and the Caribbean.