East Sea continues to be a hot topic at Shangri-La Dialogue 2017

The Shangri-La Dialogue, an inter-governmental security forum organized annually by the Institute for International Strategy Studies, draws Ministers of Defense and Generals from 28 Asia-Pacific countries. The forum was named for the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, where it has taken place annually since 2002. This year’s Dialogue will host ministers and senior defense officials from 50 countries.

Regional challenges

Recent developments in Asia have the international community worried. There is tension on the Korean peninsula over North Korea’s missile tests, terror threats in Southeast Asia, threats to cyber security, and tensions over military patrols and exercises in the East Sea. On May 25, China strongly condemned the US’s deployment of its destroyer USS Dewey near Mischief Reef in Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago, where China has illegally constructed an artificial island. On May 28, China denounced the G7 summit for voicing concern about the situation in the East Sea and East China Sea and calling for the demilitarization of “disputed entities”. Beijing demanded that the G7 stop making “irresponsible remarks”.

Amidst all the security challenges in the region, the 16th Shangri-La Dialogue will focus on maintaining rule-based order, new challenges for crisis management in the Asia-Pacific region, changes in geo-politics and national defense policies, global threats, and building a shared foundation for regional security.

East Sea remains a hot topic

China has recently built a number of artificial islands in marine areas that other countries also claim. The US has repeatedly explained its stance on this issue. The Obama administration strongly condemned China’s island construction and boosted US ties with Southeast Asian countries that have sovereignty disputes with China. Meanwhile, China says its cooperation with ASEAN can maintain peace without US intervention.

But Obama’s ‘pivot to Asia’ has changed somewhat since Donald Trump took over. President Trump has promised higher economic barriers against China, to constrain China and ensure free tradein the Asia-Pacific region that will be beneficial to the US, but his Asia pivot policy is focused primarily on building up the US naval presence in the region.

US Secretary of Defense James Mattis will attend the Shangri-La Dialogue this year to clarify the US’s Asia Pacific security-defense policy.