China can decide to debate its stance in open forums like the Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) or “retreat from that engagement,” Singapore Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said on June 12.
Ng was responding to a question posed by a Chinese military official during the seventh plenary session of the SLD in Singapore. The three-day forum serves as a platform for regional defense ministers to exchange views on security issues.
Chinese Senior Col. Zhao Xiaozhuo claimed that while the SLD has helped bring together high-ranking officials and scholars to improve communication, some perceived that the United States and its allies were dominating it….