Singapore, 5 June 2023 (TDI): Shangri La Dialogue 2023 in Singapore came to an end on 4th June, concluding several inter-state agreements and providing an opportunity for bilateral and multilateral discussions and debates on defence and related security concerns.
Shangri La Dialogue has been conducted since 2002 under IISS (International Institute of Strategic Studies). This includes the participation of defence ministries, academic experts and other high officials of government across the Indo-Pacific region encompassing Europe and the US.
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The event has always been a platform for US-China face-offs, but this time, with the ongoing war in Ukraine and rising tensions in Taiwan Strait, the event has been of particular importance with representatives of countries expressing their foreign policy agendas and defence strategies for the critical security challenges.
Moreover, its agenda also focused on cybersecurity, the development of military capability and the nuclear dimensions of the Indo-Pacific regional security.
Exchange of Views over Taiwan Strait
The visit of Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan and the shot down of what the US called a Chinese ‘spy’ balloon elevated the tensions between the two powers. Shangri La Dialogue was expected to be the mediating platform between the two to discuss and solve the problems through bilateral talks.
Also Read: Chinese Defense Minister attends Shangri-La Dialogue
But contrary to the expectations, there were no mutual dialogues as the Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu refused to see his US counterpart Lloyd Austin who later rebuked the former for this act.
During the Shangri La dialogues, the issue of the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea was highlighted and the two countries expressed their priority of diplomacy and dialogue over conflict but both the parties criticized one another for provoking the confrontation and tried to drum up the support for their Indo-Pacific Regional policies.
Quadrilateral Talks
The South China Sea is largely dominated by China, which poses a threat to the security and regional interests of other states of East Asia. Therefore, the related talks were conducted between the US, Australia, Japan and the Philippines on 3 June amid growing Chinese influence in the region.
The Philippines has recently been focused on fostering its defence ties with Washington to undermine Beijing’s dominance within the region which is of equal importance to other South Asian states, including Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia.
Threats posed by North Korea’s military capability
Another pressing issue under consideration during the conference was the threats posed by the military and nuclear capability of North Korea in the backdrop of its failed satellite launch on Wednesday, 31 May.
In a trilateral meeting, the United States, Japan, and South Korea discussed measures to share information regarding North Korean missiles by the end of the year.
Indonesia’s Strange Proposal Rejected by Ukraine
Amid Russia-Ukraine tension, every International platform puts forward its efforts to propose solutions to end the prolonged war.
On Saturday, 3 June, the Indonesian Defense Minister also presented the proposal for the peace process to end the war but it took everyone by surprise and was immediately renounced by the Ukrainian Defense Minister.
This plan called for the establishment of DMZ and the withdrawal of the troops of both sides from their present locations before a UN monitoring force is deployed to DMZs.
Platforms like Shangri La Dialogue provide an opportunity for states throughout the world to gather and resolve their differences through mutual discussions for a promising and secure future.
Nevertheless, some nations, such as China and the United States, have not taken advantage of this opportunity, which creates concerns for the international community.
