{"id":23155,"date":"2024-06-02T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-01T21:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/?p=23155"},"modified":"2024-06-01T22:03:41","modified_gmt":"2024-06-01T19:03:41","slug":"us-and-china-defense-chiefs-join-world-leaders-in-singapore-for-shangri-la-dialogue-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/us-and-china-defense-chiefs-join-world-leaders-in-singapore-for-shangri-la-dialogue-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"US and China defense chiefs join world leaders in Singapore for Shangri-La Dialogue 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Defense chiefs of the U.S. and China and several other prominent world leaders have gathered in Singapore to attend the Shangri-La Dialogue 2024, Asia\u2019s top defense summit.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The annual summit is arranged by the International Institute for Strategic Studies\u00a0(IISS), an international research institute focused on defense and security issues. The summit organizers expected participation of 45 countries, with 49 Ministerial-level delegates and more than 40 senior defense officials. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The security summit is a critical platform for discussing pressing security challenges and fostering strategic dialogue among the Asia-Pacific nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 2024 edition of Shangri-La Dialogue focuses on enhancing regional security cooperation, addressing emerging threats, and navigating the complex geopolitical landscape. With high-level participation and robust discussions, the event underscores the importance of multilateral engagement in maintaining peace and stability in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Minister for Defence Dr <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Ng_Eng_Hen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Ng_Eng_Hen<\/a> hosted the Ministerial Roundtable, a regular feature held at the sidelines of the Shangri-La dialogue. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SLD24?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#SLD24<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RichardMarlesMP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@RichardMarlesMP<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JosepBorrellF?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@JosepBorrellF<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/kihara_minoru?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@kihara_minoru<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LKasciunas?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@LKasciunas<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/giboteodoro?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@giboteodoro<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/kbmalattiya?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@kbmalattiya<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/zaqym?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@zaqym<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/RO0N0aouhB\">pic.twitter.com\/RO0N0aouhB<\/a><\/p>\u2014 Ministry of Defence (@mindefsg) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mindefsg\/status\/1796790007921037438?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 1, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><strong>Who is attending Shangri-La Dialogue 2024?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 2024 IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore sees a distinguished lineup of global leaders and defense chiefs. Notable attendees include Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Indonesia\u2019s President-elect Prabowo Subianto, and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Defense Minister Dong Jun represents China, while Defense Ministers Minoru Kihara and Shin Won-sik represent Japan and South Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Australia&#8217;s Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles, along with EU High Representative Josep Borrell, also joined the summit. New Zealand&#8217;s Defense Minister Judith Collins, German Chief of Defense General Carsten Breuer, Estonia\u2019s Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur, and Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren round out the list of prominent participants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The gathering underscores the Dialogue\u2019s importance as a premier forum for addressing critical security issues and fostering international cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Indonesia President-Elect and Defence Minister <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/prabowo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Prabowo<\/a> and PM <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LawrenceWongST?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@LawrenceWongST<\/a> reaffirmed the close bilateral and people-to-people relations between \ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddec and \ud83c\uddee\ud83c\udde9 at the Istana today. They also exchanged views and noted the excellent progress in bilateral cooperation.<\/p>\u2014 Ministry of Defence (@mindefsg) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mindefsg\/status\/1796883835688526180?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 1, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><br><strong>US focus on Indo-Pacific<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the most anticipated speeches at the forum was delivered by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. He laid out his country\u2019s security-related administrative approach to the region in a world consumed by war in Europe and the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Austin extended his gratitude to Singapore for its consistent hospitality, especially recognizing Senior Minister Teo and his friend, Minister Ng. He also congratulated Singapore\u2019s newly elected Prime Minister Wong. Austin expressed pleasure at seeing esteemed colleagues, including Deputy Prime Minister Marles and President-elect Prabowo, and welcomed first-time Defense Ministers such as Minister Kihara, Minister Shin, Minister Collins, and Secretary Teodoro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Austin assured top security officials at the summit that war with China is neither imminent nor unavoidable, despite rising tensions in the Asia-Pacific region. Speaking at the forum, Austin emphasized the necessity of renewed dialogue with his Chinese counterpart to prevent \u201cmiscalculations and misunderstandings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAs long as we\u2019re talking, we\u2019re able to identify those issues that are troublesome and that we want to make sure that we have placed guardrails to ensure there are no misperceptions and no miscalculations, that can spiral out of control,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can only do that kind of thing if you are talking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The United States can be secure only if Asia is secure. <br><br>We have long maintained our presence in the Indo-Pacific for this very reason. <br><br>It\u2019s also why we continue to make the investments necessary to meet our commitments to our allies and partners. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2KmBuvJccD\">pic.twitter.com\/2KmBuvJccD<\/a><\/p>\u2014 Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SecDef\/status\/1796753133659631910?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 1, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><br><strong>US-China Defense Chiefs Meeting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Austin\u2019s comments about Chian followed a significant meeting with Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun, marking the first in-person discussion between the top defense officials since 2022. Contacts between the American and Chinese militaries had ceased following then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi\u2019s visit to Taiwan, which angered Beijing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During their over-hour-long meeting, both sides maintained their entrenched positions on Taiwan and the South China Sea. China continues to claim Taiwan as its own and has not ruled out the use of force to assert control. Meanwhile, China&#8217;s extensive claims in the South China Sea have resulted in confrontations with other nations in the region, particularly the Philippines. Despite these unresolved issues, Austin stressed the importance of direct military-to-military communication to mitigate risks and ensure regional stability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During their 75-minute meeting, Austin and Dong emphasized the importance of keeping open lines of communication between their respective militaries and committed to reactivating the hotline between theater commanders from both sides in the coming months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Austin reiterated Washington\u2019s concerns about China\u2019s recent two-day military exercise surrounding Taiwan and urged Beijing not to use Taiwan\u2019s political transition, which he described as a routine democratic process, as &#8220;a pretext for coercive measures&#8221; against the democratic island.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/US-China-Defense-Ministers.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"690\" height=\"370\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/US-China-Defense-Ministers.jpg?resize=690%2C370&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (R) and China's Defense Minister Admiral Dong Jun\" class=\"wp-image-22309\" style=\"width:840px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/US-China-Defense-Ministers.jpg?w=690&amp;ssl=1 690w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/US-China-Defense-Ministers.jpg?resize=300%2C161&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 690px) 100vw, 690px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (R) and China&#8217;s Defense Minister Admiral Dong Jun. (Image Credit: China Defense Ministry\/AFP\/CFP)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>At a news conference after the meeting between the two defense officials, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Wu Qian spoke to journalists and asserted that the Taiwan issue is strictly an internal matter for China and that external forces &#8220;have no right to interfere in the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Austin reiterated during the meeting that the United States will persist in conducting activities such as flying, sailing, and operating wherever international law permits, prioritizing safe and responsible conduct. He emphasized the significance of upholding freedom of navigation by international law, particularly in the South China Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dong, in the meeting, expressed concern that the Philippines has reneged on its commitments, attributing this to support from external actors. He noted continuous provocations by the Philippines on the contested Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea, territory claimed by both Beijing and Manila, as reported by Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Wu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><strong>Keynote speech by Philippines President<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivered the keynote speech at the summit and became the first Southeast Asian President to do so. During his speech, Marcos referenced international agreements such as the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which laid out a legal structure governing marine and maritime endeavors.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Philippine-President-US-DefSec-Shangrila-Dialogue.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1016\" height=\"582\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Philippine-President-US-DefSec-Shangrila-Dialogue.jpg?resize=1016%2C582&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Prime Minister of Singapore Lawrence Wong talking with President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin\" class=\"wp-image-23156\" style=\"width:839px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Philippine-President-US-DefSec-Shangrila-Dialogue.jpg?resize=1024%2C587&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Philippine-President-US-DefSec-Shangrila-Dialogue.jpg?resize=300%2C172&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Philippine-President-US-DefSec-Shangrila-Dialogue.jpg?resize=768%2C440&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Philippine-President-US-DefSec-Shangrila-Dialogue.jpg?w=1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1016px) 100vw, 1016px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>Prime Minister of Singapore Lawrence Wong talking with President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during Shangri-La Dialogue conference in Singapore. (Image Credit: X\/@LawrenceWongST)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><br>Marcos highlighted that UNCLOS not only delineated the boundaries of each state&#8217;s maritime zones but also outlined the scope of their authority in exercising sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction within those zones. He noted that the Philippines had actively worked to synchronize its territorial and maritime zone definitions with the parameters recognized and permitted by international law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said that \u201cour efforts stand in stark contrast to assertive actions that aim to propagate excessive and baseless claims through force, intimidation, and deception,\u201d although he did not name China directly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><strong>Zelenskyy in Singapore<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also arrived in Singapore for the Shangri-La Dialogue conference, where would meet U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and discuss support for his embattled country in an address to delegates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After arriving at the conference venue in a motorcade amid heavy security, Zelenskyy said in a statement on the social media platform that he had come to gather support from the Asia-Pacific region for a peace summit planned for June 15-16 in Switzerland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I arrived in Singapore to attend the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia&#8217;s premier defense summit.<br><br>Global security is impossible when the world&#8217;s largest country disregards recognized borders, international law, and the UN Charter, resorts to hunger, darkness, and nuclear blackmail.\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/7SPi4Rk6BN\">pic.twitter.com\/7SPi4Rk6BN<\/a><\/p>\u2014 Volodymyr Zelenskyy \/ \u0412\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0434\u0438\u043c\u0438\u0440 \u0417\u0435\u043b\u0435\u043d\u0441\u044c\u043a\u0438\u0439 (@ZelenskyyUa) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ZelenskyyUa\/status\/1796849879966163164?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 1, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>&#8220;Global security is impossible when the world&#8217;s largest country disregards recognized borders, international law, and the U.N. Charter, resorts to hunger, darkness, and nuclear blackmail,&#8221; he said in his statement, referring to Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022. Russia has not attended the Shangri-La Dialogue since the invasion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Defense chiefs of the U.S. and China and several other prominent world leaders have gathered in Singapore to attend the Shangri-la Dialogue 2024, Asia\u2019s top defense summit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23157,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[124,1,125],"tags":[137,380,45,75,6,357,377,87,217,113,86,303,302,7,22],"class_list":["post-23155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-pacific","category-news","category-united-states","tag-asia","tag-asia-pacific","tag-china","tag-conflict","tag-defense","tag-europe","tag-indo-pacific","tag-indonesia","tag-philippines","tag-security","tag-singapore","tag-south-china-sea","tag-south-east-asia","tag-u-s","tag-ukraine"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/US-China-officials-Shangrila-Dialogue.jpg?fit=690%2C370&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7jJWb-61t","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23155"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23167,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23155\/revisions\/23167"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}