Shangri-la Conference

Prospect of peaceful 'reunification' with Taiwan being 'eroded', says China

Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue conference in Singapore, Dong said Taiwan was the core of core issues for China, but Taiwan is incrementally pursuing separatism

US trying to build Asia-Pacific version of Nato, says Chinese official

The US is trying to build an Asia-Pacific version of NATO through its Indo-Pacific strategy to maintain its hegemony in the region, a Chinese defence official has said, stressing that Washington's attempt to serve its selfish" geopolitical interest is doomed to fail. The remarks by Lieutenant General Jing Jianfeng, deputy chief of staff of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission, came in response to US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin's speech during the Shangri La Dialogue on Saturday in which he spoke about strengthening alliances and partnerships across the region. Held annually in Singapore, the Shangri La Dialogue is Asia's premier defence summit. Lieutenant-General Jing warned that if regional countries were to sign up for the US' Indo-Pacific strategy, they would be bound to the US war chariot and be lured into taking bullets for the US. He termed Austin's remarks as rhetoric" that "sounds good but does no good, one that serves selfish US geopolitical

China accuses US of causing friction by supporting Taiwan, Philippines

China's defence minister on Sunday acknowledged the importance of newly renewed military-to-military communications with the United States as tensions escalate in the Asia-Pacific, while at the same time accusing Washington of causing the friction with its support for Taiwan and the Philippines. We will not allow anyone to bring geopolitical conflicts or any war, whether hot or cold, into our region," Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun told the Shangri-La defence forum in Singapore through a translator. We will not allow any country or any force to create conflict and chaos in our region, he added. China has been increasingly assertive in pressing its claim to virtually the entire South China Sea, a key global shipping route, which has led to a growing number of conflicts, most notably with the Philippines, whose ships have been rammed by Chinese vessels and hit with water cannons. Dong insisted that China's strategic culture is anchored in universal love and non-aggression", before

19th Shangri-La Dialogue kicks off in Singapore after 2-yr Covid hiatus

The 19th Shangri-La Dialogue, hosted by International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), opened in Singapore after a two-year Covid-19 pandemic induced hiatus

Premvir Das: What the Shangri-La conundrum bodes

Cementing relations with a rising China and yet ensuring that Asia's foremost military power remains within acceptable boundaries are among India's major strategic challenges