On May 31-June 2, 2019, the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) hosted the eighteenth Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. The annual meeting serves as a forum for Asian leaders, especially defense ministers, to gather to discuss pressing issues in regional security. Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong tackled the looming elephant in the room by addressing the tension between China and the United States head-on in his keynote speech at the dialogue: “Our world is at a turning point. Globalisation is under siege. Tensions between the US and China are growing and, like everyone else, we in Singapore are anxious. We wonder what the future holds and how countries can collectively find a way forward to maintain peace and prosperity in the world.” With the stage set, Acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan fired the first shots in a tense exchange of critiques between the two countries by hinting at the US’s commitment to Taiwanese self-determination in his speech at the event. Although officials from Australia, Canada, the European Union, France, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam were present to weigh-in on other topics, the drama between China and the US appeared to steal the show. With the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and Group of Twenty (G20) Summits fast-approaching, how are the Rising Powers responding to the Shangri-La Dialogue fracas? Read the full Policy Alert here.
