Defence officials from Asia, US and beyond gather in Singapore for security summit

Defence officials from across Asia, the United States, Europe and other regions are set to gather in Singapore as the 2026 IISS Shangri-La Dialogue which will open on Friday. The three-day summit, held annually at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, is regarded as Asia's premier defence and security forum and will run from May 29 to May 31.

The Dialogue serves as a key platform for government ministers, senior officials, business leaders and security experts to discuss emerging security challenges facing the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. It also provides opportunities for bilateral and multilateral meetings among participating delegations.

This year's conference comes shortly after a summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing earlier this month, where ties between the two countries were reported to be improving.

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Among the high-profile attendees are US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Japanese Defence Minister Koizumi Shinjiro, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Singapore Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing. Hegseth is scheduled to deliver a major address on Saturday, with delegates expected to pay close attention to his remarks and the reactions from Asian nations.

Iran, Taiwan and South China Sea likely to dominate agenda

Several pressing security issues are likely to dominate discussions during the summit. The impact of the tense situation involving Iran on Asia's security and economic interests is expected to be one of the key talking points. Other topics likely to feature prominently include concerns surrounding Taiwan and the South China Sea, both of which remain major regional security challenges.

Interest is also growing in Japan's role in the Indo-Pacific region following Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae's unveiling of an updated "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" vision earlier this month.

China sends lower-level delegation

Meanwhile, China will be represented by a delegation of experts and scholars from the People's Liberation Army rather than by Defence Minister Dong Jun, who will skip the event. According to Chinese defence ministry spokesperson Jiang Bin, the delegation will include officials from PLA-run research institutes and the navy. Beijing also sent a similar lower-level delegation to the Shangri-La Dialogue last year.