The Defence Ministers of France, Germany and the UK, the Swedish Foreign
Minister and senior defence officers of Russia and Azerbaijan will
attend the 12th Asian Security Summit IISS (or Shangri-La Dialogue) to
be held in Singapore from May 31 to June 2.
Convened by the
London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), the
Shangri-La Dialogue is the key forum for the discussion and analysis of
defence and security issues in the region and beyond.
The
participation in the 12th Shangri-La Dialogue of four European
ministers, including the ‘Big Three’ European defence ministers, namely
French, German and British; the High Representative for Foreign Affairs
and Security Policy for the European Union, Catherine Ashton; and the
Chairman of NATO’s Military Committee, General Knud Bartels, reflects
special European interest in security issues in Asia.
In this
connection, Dr John Chipman, Director-General and Chief Executive of the
IISS, said: “European military expenditure may be in decline but
defence diplomacy in the Asia- Pacific cannot be ignored.”
According
to the IISS, 31 countries are represented at this year’s Dialogue,
namely Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada,
China, Columbia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic
of Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pakistan, the
Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Thailand,
Timor-Leste, UAE, the UK, the US, and Vietnam.
Vietnamese Prime
Minister Nguyen Tan Dung will deliver a keynote address at the May 31
opening ceremony which will also be attended by senior defence officers
of participant countries, including the Defence Ministers of all the ten
ASEAN member countries, the three above-mentioned European countries,
and Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, and the US.
The
agenda includes five plenary sessions on the US Approach to Regional
Security; Defending National Interests, Preventing Conflict; Military
Modernisation and Strategic Transparency; New Trends in Asia-Pacific
Security; and Advancing Defence Cooperation in the Asia Pacific.
US
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel; Deputy Chief of the General Staff of
the People’s Liberation Army of China Lieutenant General Qi Jianguo;
High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy for the
European Union Catherine Ashton will speak in the plenary sessions,
among others.
The Dialogue will also host six special sessions on
Avoiding Incidents at Sea; Afghan Drawdown and Regional Security;
Missile Defence in the Asia-Pacific; New Military Technologies and
Doctrines; Defence Diplomacy and Conflict Prevention; and Cyber
Dimension to Asian Security.-VNA