China has declined to send its defense minister to the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore for the second consecutive year, a conspicuous absence as U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth arrived in the city-state on May 29 to open the three-day IISS security forum.
Hegseth held separate bilateral meetings with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Defense Minister Chan Jun Kai on arrival, ahead of a Saturday keynote address expected to reaffirm the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The U.S. delegation is the largest to attend the forum in years, reflecting the urgency Washington places on Southeast Asian security partnerships amid China’s expanding military footprint in the region.
China’s decision to skip the dialogue entirely — not merely send a lower-ranking official — marks a significant diplomatic signal. No PLA senior officer is listed among this year’s speakers. The forum, now in its 23rd edition, has long served as an informal channel between U.S. and Chinese defense officials; Beijing’s withdrawal removes one of the few remaining venues for direct military-to-military dialogue.
Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Koura and Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles are also attending, alongside counterparts from India, the Philippines, South Korea, and Indonesia. AUKUS partners are expected to hold a sidebar meeting on the margins of the forum.
China has declined to send its defense minister to the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore for the second consecutive year, a conspicuous absence as U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth arrived in the city-state on May 29 to open the three-day IISS security forum.
Hegseth held separate bilateral meetings with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Defense Minister Chan Jun Kai on arrival, ahead of a Saturday keynote address expected to reaffirm the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The U.S. delegation is the largest to attend the forum in years, reflecting the urgency Washington places on Southeast Asian security partnerships amid China’s expanding military footprint in the region.
China’s decision to skip the dialogue entirely — not merely send a lower-ranking official — marks a significant diplomatic signal. No PLA senior officer is listed among this year’s speakers. The forum, now in its 23rd edition, has long served as an informal channel between U.S. and Chinese defense officials; Beijing’s withdrawal removes one of the few remaining venues for direct military-to-military dialogue.
Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Koura and Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles are also attending, alongside counterparts from India, the Philippines, South Korea, and Indonesia. AUKUS partners are expected to hold a sidebar meeting on the margins of the forum.
China has declined to send its defense minister to the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore for the second consecutive year, a conspicuous absence as U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth arrived in the city-state on May 29 to open the three-day IISS security forum.
Hegseth held separate bilateral meetings with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Defense Minister Chan Jun Kai on arrival, ahead of a Saturday keynote address expected to reaffirm the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The U.S. delegation is the largest to attend the forum in years, reflecting the urgency Washington places on Southeast Asian security partnerships amid China’s expanding military footprint in the region.
China’s decision to skip the dialogue entirely — not merely send a lower-ranking official — marks a significant diplomatic signal. No PLA senior officer is listed among this year’s speakers. The forum, now in its 23rd edition, has long served as an informal channel between U.S. and Chinese defense officials; Beijing’s withdrawal removes one of the few remaining venues for direct military-to-military dialogue.
Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Koura and Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles are also attending, alongside counterparts from India, the Philippines, South Korea, and Indonesia. AUKUS partners are expected to hold a sidebar meeting on the margins of the forum.
U.S. officials previewing the speech said Hegseth would address what he called “the，，，，，，，…
China has declined to send its defense minister to the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore for the second consecutive year, a conspicuous absence as U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth arrived in the city-state on May 29 to open the three-day IISS security forum.
Hegseth held separate bilateral meetings with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Defense Minister Chan Jun Kai on arrival, ahead of a Saturday keynote address expected to reaffirm the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The U.S. delegation is the largest to attend the forum in years, reflecting the urgency Washington places on Southeast Asian security partnerships amid China’s expanding military footprint in the region.
China’s decision to skip the dialogue entirely — not merely send a lower-ranking official — marks a significant diplomatic signal. No PLA senior officer is listed among this year’s speakers. The forum, now in its 23rd edition, has long served as an informal channel between U.S. and Chinese defense officials; Beijing’s withdrawal removes one of the few remaining venues for direct military-to-military dialogue at a time when tensions across the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea are elevated.
Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Koura and Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles are also attending, alongside counterparts from India, the Philippines, South Korea, and Indonesia. AUKUS partners are expected to hold a sidebar meeting on the margins of the forum.
U.S. officials previewing the speech said Hegseth would frame the United States as a force for stability in the region while pressing allies to take greater responsibility for their own defense — a theme he has pressed since taking office. The speech is expected to address China’s military buildup in the South China Sea, ongoing pressure campaigns against Taiwan and Philippine vessels near Scarborough Shoal, and the broader challenge posed by Beijing’s attempt to alter the Indo-Pacific status quo by force.
The keynote comes two weeks after a surprise Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing, which produced no public joint statement and left analysts uncertain about whether the two sides had found any new ground for cooperation. The Shangri-La Dialogue will now proceed without any Chinese senior-level representation for the second year running.
Singapore, which hosts the forum as a neutral venue, has walked a careful line. Prime Minister Wong has said Singapore “does not take sides” in great-power competition while emphasizing the city-state’s stake in regional stability and freedom of navigation. Singapore hosts a major U.S. naval logistics facility and has long balanced ties with both Washington and Beijing.
The Shangri-La Dialogue runs through June 1. Hegseth’s keynote is scheduled for Saturday afternoon Singapore time.