Shangri-La Dialogue
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The IISS Asia Security Summit: The Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) is a "
The summit serves to cultivate a sense of community among the most important policymakers in the defence and security community in the region. Government delegations have made the best out of the meeting by holding bilateral meetings with other delegations on the sidelines of the conference. While primarily an inter-governmental meeting, the summit is also attended by legislators, academic experts, distinguished journalists and business delegates.
Over the years, the Shangri-La Dialogue has become one of the most important independent forums for the exchange of views by international security policy decision-makers. Besides the host nation, countries that have participated in the dialogue have included
.History
Background
Prior to the first summit, Asia lacked a regional security framework like Europe. Earlier in 1996, US Defence Secretary
The SLD was conceived by the current IISS Director-General and Chief Executive
Initially the SLD was modelled after the Munich Conference on Security Policy, but with greater ambition - to create a Track One organization that "defence ministers needed if they were to have any chance at all of meeting multilaterally in a transregional format".
In 2004, the IISS Asia office was opened to allow IISS to organize the summit independently.[5]
2000s
Initiated in 2002, it was an "unofficial defence summit'" which allowed defence officials to meet "privately and in confidence, bilaterally and multilaterally, without the obligation to produce a formal statement or communique".[6] About a dozen deputy ministers and ministerial representatives attended the inaugural summit (then known as the Asia Security Conference), including a US delegation led by US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz.[7][8] The first summit was organized in six plenary sessions lasting for one and a half days.
In 2003, the second summit expanded its invitation list to include chiefs of defence staff, and permanent or under secretaries of defence ministries. The agenda this year was organized around five plenary sessions supplemented by two simultaneous off-the-record 'break-out groups'.[3]
In 2004, the invitation list was again further expanded to include participating countries' most senior intelligence and the police and national security officials of some countries. The number of break-out groups was increased to three.
In 2005, Pakistan was represented for the first time.
In 2006, the number of delegations had risen to 23 countries, with 17 being led by their respective defence ministers, and another 3 by deputy defence ministers or equivalent.
The 2007 iteration of the SLD was a landmark meeting as it attracted top-level participation from China. The Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army (with the status of Vice-Minister) Lieutenant-General
In 2008, Laos was represented for the first time. Notably despite the natural disasters in their respective countries, Myanmar and China were led by high-level officers, Deputy Minister of Defence, Major-General Aye Myint for Myanmar and Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant-General Ma Xiaotian for China. The number of plenary sessions increased from five to six, while the number of break-out groups increased from three to six.[9]
In 2009, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was the first head of government other than Singapore to address the summit's opening dinner. It is also known that Singapore and Australia signed a memorandum of agreement on the sidelines of the 2009 summit allowing Singapore's armed forces access to Australian training facilities for a further decade.
2010s
In the 2010 summit, President of the Republic of Korea,
In June 2011, there was a marked shift in the debate towards non-traditional security issues as well as on the South China Sea.[10][11] Malaysian Prime Minister Najib in his keynote address mentioned new multilaterism to deal with security challenges to the region includes people smuggling, drug trafficking, terrorism and nuclear proliferation.[12] China was represented at the summit for the first time at full ministerial level. Chinese Defence Minister General Liang Guanglie indicated China's peaceful rise in the region and willingness to work with neighbouring countries to resolve competing claims to disputed territorial claims in the South China Sea.[12][13][14]
The United States reiterated its commitment to the Asia Pacific region despite having budgetary constraints, wars and a waning domestic economy.[12][15] Outgoing US defence secretary Robert Gates said he will bet anyone $100 that in the next five years US influence will be strong if not stronger than today.[16] The United States has always been seen as the preeminent power in the Pacific Rim and now has to accommodate an emerging China to help maintain stability and security in the region.[17][18][19]
In 2017, the 16th SLD was held from 2–4 June 2017.[20]
In 2018, the 17th SLD was held from 1–3 June 2018.[21]
The 18th SLD was held in June 2018 and has the most participants to date from nearly 50 countries and territories.[22] The dialogue was opened by Singapore Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong. Six plenary sessions were held and other special sessions on maritime security, defence, industrial development and defence co-operation[22]
2020s
The 19th SLD, which was originally scheduled for 5–7 June 2020, was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore. It was further postponed to 2022 as the pandemic was still ongoing in Singapore.[23]
The 19th SLD was held on 10-12 June 2022 after a two-year hiatus.[23][24][25] Japan's Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, was a keynote speaker,[26] while the Minister of National Defense for China, General Wei Fenghe, addressed and was questioned by an audience over China’s vision for regional order.[27] Representatives from 42 countries which included 37 ministerial-level delegates and more than 30 senior defence officials attended the summit.[25] Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a virtual address to the Summit on 11 June.[28]
Format
Plenary sessions
Each summit typically is opened by a keynote address, historically given by a prominent Singaporean figure. Beginning in 2009, a head of state or head of government has delivered the keynote address. Australian Prime Minister
Break-out groups
Introduced by the second summit in 2003, break-out groups are held concurrently with each other and allow more open discussion between participants on specific issues. These sessions also ensure that sufficient time is available during the summit for ministers to hold bilateral meetings. The break-out groups are strictly off-the-record so that officials could advance policy goals more freely. The break-out groups are usually chaired by a senior IISS staff member. By 2006, break-out group speaking slots are allocated only to ministers or senior officials from a delegation.[3]
Bilateral meetings
While largely unpublicised, the Shangri-La Dialogues provide an annual venue for ministers,
Non-Government delegates
The summit has been consistently attended by a mix of 200-plus non-government delegates, which include politicians, academics, businessmen, think tank analysts, media and other NGO personnel. This has given the SLD an aspect of a
Impact
Shangri-La has contributed to the enhancement of
The 2010 Chinese Defence White paper explicitly mentioned senior Chinese participation in Shangri-La Dialogue since 2007 as one of their forums of participation in regional security cooperation.[29] The IISS thinks that increased representation from China indicate an increased level of engagement on a multilateral level and that the PLA wished to improve its image after recent measures, which were seen as too aggressive, impacted relations with affected countries.[30]
See also
- Defence Diplomacy
- Munich Security Conference
- ASEAN Regional Forum
- Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific
- Shangri-La Shooting, 2015
- Raisina Dialogue
References
Footnotes
- ^ The Pacific ReviewVol 23 No 3.
- ^ Brandon, John (31 July 2002). "International Institute for Strategic Studies The International Herald Tribune - ASEAN". Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
- ^ a b c d 5th Dialogue report (2006). The Shangri-La Dialogue: The 5th Anniversary IISS Asia Security Conference. p11-19: The International Institute for Strategic Studies.
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: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "The Asahi Shimbun". The Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- OCLC 1096236756.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ^ Cossa, Ralph A. (2 August 2002). "International Institute for Strategic Studies Taipei Times - Asian multilateralism". Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
- ^ "IISS". www.iiss.org. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- ^ Ralph A Cossa (2 August 2002). "Regional Security: Different Targets". Far Eastern Economic Review.
- ^ 7th Dialogue report (2008). The Shangri-La Dialogue: The 7th IISS Asia Security Conference. The International Institute for Strategic Studies. p. 5.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Sheryn Lee (24 June 2011). "The tenth Shangri-La Dialogue".
- ^ Yoichi Kato. "Tony Tan, ex-Singapore deputy PM: Shangri-La Dialogue a success".
- ^ a b c Dan De Luce (8 June 2011). "Cold War mentality hinders peace in Asia-Pacific". AFP.
- ^ Kevin Lim; Charmian Kok; John Ruwitch; Sanjeev Miglani; Robert Birsel (5 June 2011). "China says will not threaten anyone with modern military". Reuters.
- ^ Kathrin Hille; Demetri Sevastopulo (5 June 2011). "Cordiality hides undercurrent at Asian summit". The Financial Times Ltd.
- ^ "Gates vows new weapons for US role in Asia".
- ^ Gavin Fang (6 June 2011). "Shangri-La Dialogue". Australia Network, ABC.
- ^ Tao Wenzhao (8 June 2011). "Exchanges will build trust". China Daily.
- ^ BERNAMA (3 June 2011). "Asean Eyes Constructive Relations With China, India - Najib". BERNAMA.
- ^ BERNAMA (4 June 2011). "Champion In Defence Diplomacy Makes Najib Opening Speaker Of Shangri-La Dialogue". BERNAMA.
- ^ "About the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue". www.iiss.org. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- ^ "IISS". www.iiss.org. Archived from the original on 9 June 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- ^ a b "18th Shangri-La Dialogue opens in Singapore". vietnamnews.vn. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
- ^ a b "Update on the 2020 IISS Shangri-La Dialogue: Asia Security Summit". IISS. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- ^ Auto, Hermes (9 June 2022). "Shangri-La Dialogue resumes in S'pore, Ukraine president Zelensky to give special address | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
- ^ a b "China must decide for itself if attending Shangri-La Dialogue adds value: Ng Eng Hen". CNA. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
- ^ Lin, Chen; Ali, Idrees (10 June 2022). "At Asia security summit, Japan vows to boost regional security role". Reuters. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
- ^ "IISS Shangri-La Dialogue 2022: China's vision for regional order". International Institute for Strategic Studies. YouTube. 12 June 2022.
- ^ "Watch: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks at Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore". CNA. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
- ^ Wang Guanqun, Ed. (31 March 2011). "China's National Defense in 2010". Archived from the original on 4 May 2011.
- ^ Josh Rogin and Philip Walker. (1 June 2011). "U.S. and China set for military talks in Singapore".
Bibliography
- David Capie and Brendan Taylor, 'The Shangri-La Dialogue and the Institutionalization of Defence Diplomacy in Asia' (25 March 2010). Available at SSRN: The Shangri-La Dialogue and the Institutionalization of Defence Diplomacy in Asia
- Fu-kuo Liu, 'Implication of ‘Shangri-La Dialogue’ for Taiwan', Strategic and Security Analyses, Vol.38 (June 2008). [In Chinese]