SINGAPORE. The tense relationship between China and the United States is poised to overshadow Asia’s premier security meeting this week, along with the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, and the simmering tensions in the South China Sea.
The Shangri-La Dialogue, which gathers top defense officials, senior military officers, diplomats, weapons makers, and security analysts from around the globe, will run from May 31 to June 2 in Singapore.
Approximately 600 delegates from nearly 50 countries are set to attend the meeting. Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. will open the dialogue with a keynote address, focusing on the South China Sea, an area where he has criticized new rules imposed by China’s coast guard as an escalation and “worrisome.”
“This affects the region and it affects the world,” Marcos stated, emphasizing the significance of his address on the South China Sea.
The event will feature a speech from the U.S. delegation on Saturday and from China on Sunday. This year’s edition includes a special session by Indonesia’s President-elect Prabowo Subianto, who has expressed openness to both the U.S. and China.
The dialogue is noted for its bilateral and multilateral military-to-military meetings on the sidelines, which analysts believe are crucial despite the absence of formal meetings between key delegates last year. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia has not participated, and no Israeli delegation is attending this year.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is scheduled to meet his Chinese counterpart, Dong Jun, on Friday, aiming to ease tensions while addressing regional and global security issues. In Beijing, China’s defense ministry spokesperson Wu Qian confirmed Dong’s attendance at the conference but did not verify a meeting with Austin. “China believes that high-level China-U.S. strategic military communications help stabilize military-to-military relations,” Wu said.
Drew Thompson, a former Pentagon official now at the National University of Singapore, cautioned that while the dialogue is crucial, it might not lead to substantial outcomes. “The U.S. and China have so little trust or consensus about common interests,” Thompson noted.
Collin Koh, a security scholar at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, concurred. “The schism between the two powers is so deep that the Sino-U.S. rivalry has become a structural reality,” he said.
Spotlight on China
While the dialogue is expected to address issues in Ukraine and Gaza, the focus will likely be on China. Marcos’ keynote address will highlight South China Sea issues, and discussions about the Taiwan Strait are expected from the U.S. and its allies. “Taiwan is surely a matter of international security concern,” Koh remarked, noting the sensitivity of the topic.
Thompson pointed out that China’s aggressive policies have strained its relationships with many neighbors, who now look to the U.S. for security and cooperation. “We’ve seen a rapid development of security relationships between countries like Korea, Japan, Australia, and the Philippines,” he said. “This is largely in response to China’s aggressive foreign policy and opaque military buildup.”
The Shangri-La Dialogue continues to be a crucial platform for addressing pressing security issues in Asia and beyond, with this year’s meeting set against a backdrop of heightened geopolitical tensions and ongoing global conflicts.
Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.
