This year marks the 21st anniversary of holding the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. The annual dialogue is meant to be the premiere venue for defense and security officials and experts from around the world. They gather and share their thoughts on the state of the world’s security situation from their nation’s point of view.
This year’s iteration was more like the Shangri-La "monologues."
What stood out are threefold. First, China's defense minister, Adm. Dong Jun, and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin did not engage in meaningful dialogue but rather spoke past each other. In a fiery speech filled with threats and historical inaccuracies, Dong made strong statements such as, “anyone who dares to separate Taiwan from China will only end up in self-destruction.” Despite his aggressive rhetoric, Dong emphasized what he claimed was China’s peaceful history, stating that his country prefers compromise, peaceful coexistence and dialogue over using military force to resolve conflicts.
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