21st Shangri La Dialogue Ends in Singapore

The 21st edition of the Asia Pacific premier defence meet, the Shangri La Dialogue or the Asian Security Summit, ended in Singapore on 2 June 2024. The Shangri La Dialogue was held at the Shangri La Hotel in Singapore from 31 May to 2 June 2024. It was attended by over a hundred delegates from Asia Pacific regions and from other parts of the world.

The Dialogue brings together security practitioners, including defence ministers, senior officials and non-governmental stakeholders, to discuss the most pressing security challenges in the Asia-Pacific, engage in bilateral discussions, and identify fresh approaches.

Organiser and Permanent Venue of the Shangri La Dialogue

The Shangri La Dialogue, or the Asian Security Summit is organised by the International Institute for  Strategic Studies (IISS) with the Singapore government. The permanent venue of the meeting is the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore. Now, the meeting is more famous as the Shangri-La Dialogue. 

The Shangri-La is a mythical place in the James Hilton novel Lost Paradise. It is based on the Tibetan mythical place Shambala, which was a utopia of peace, high in the mountains and cut from the world.

The Shangri-La Dialogue attempts to provide such an environment for the countries of the Asia Pacific to discuss and find a solution to the region's security problems. 

Background to the Shangri La Dialogue 

The credit for creating the Shangri-La Dialogue or the Asian Security Summit is given to the British strategist Sir John Chipman. Sir Chipman was the head of the London-based think tank, International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). He approached the former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kaun Yew in the 1990s to create a forum for the defence minister of the region to discuss issues related to the security and defence of the region. 

The first Asian Security Conference, or the Shangri La Dialogue, was held in 2002. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was cancelled in 2020 and 2021.

Participants of the 21st Shangri La Dialogue 

The Shangri La Dialogue is a three-day event, but the main event takes place on the second day. It is always inaugurated by the United States Secretary of Defence. This year, the United States Secretary of Defence, Llyod Austin, inaugurated the main session. The Chinese defence minister always opens the next day's session. This year, China was represented by its defence minister, Admiral Dong Jun.

The dialogue also included the defence ministers of Indonesia, Maldives, France, South Korea, and others.

 Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Philippines' President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and Timor Leste's President Dr Jose Horta also participated in the conference. 

This time, India was not represented. In 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the first Indian prime minister to address the Shangri La Dialogue.