US “GENUINELY” WANTS TO ENGAGE REGION
During a wrap-up interview with the media later in the day, the defence minister fielded a host of questions about US-China relations after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s speech on Saturday and China’s subsequent response to it.
In his interactions with Mr Hegseth, Mr Chan said he could sense that the US “genuinely” wants to engage the region – which the region too would welcome.
“So now we have to translate all this into concrete, tangible action plans,” he added.
China’s Defence Minister Dong Jun was not in attendance at this year’s dialogue. Instead, Beijing sent an academic delegation with no top defence officials.
This was the first time since 2019 that Beijing was not represented by its defence chief.
On his absence, Mr Chan said: “I don’t want people to get the wrong idea and hang everything on whether a certain personality attends a forum or (does) not attend a forum.”
He reiterated that every country will have its own considerations on who they wish to send to respective forums, taking into account their own domestic considerations.
Mr Chan also noted that the representation from delegates can fluctuate over the years, pointing out that 47 countries attended this year’s Shangri-La Dialogue compared to 45 last year.
Levels of representation aside, if every delegation is treated with respect, “we will still get value out of it”, said Mr Chan.
“We don’t look at the numbers going up and down, and then we misinterpret what they say. Instead, we interpreted on the basis of their participation, regardless of their level.”
During the interview, Mr Chan was also asked to comment on Mr Hegseth referring to China as a “threat”.
The Singapore minister highlighted that in Mr Hegseth’s speech, one part of it was to his domestic audience, and another was to Asian partners.
Mr Chan then quoted lines from the Pentagon chief’s speech, specifically: “We do not seek war … we do not seek to dominate or strangle China, to encircle or provoke. We do not seek regime change, nor will we instigate or disrespect a proud and historic culture.”
“I think it’s the first time something like that has been stated so clearly,” said Singapore’s defence minister.
“So I leave it to the audience to put the weights on the different parts of the speech.”
