Shangri-La conference: Asia-Pacific on path to rearmament
Defense ministers, military officials and security experts from around the world gathered at the Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) in Singapore this week to discuss the security situation in the Asia-Pacific. The conference has been hosted annually since 2002 by the London-based Internat
Defense ministers, military officials and security experts from around the world gathered at the Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) in Singapore this week to discuss the security situation in the Asia-Pacific. The conference has been hosted annually since 2002 by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
A week before the Shangri-La Dialogue 2026 began in Singapore, city-state Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said: "The reality in this changed world is that there will be more volatility — we will be facing storm after storm."
Indeed, several conflicts in the Asia-Pacific have escalated recently. In May 2025, there was a brief war between India and Pakistan . The conflict between Thailand and Cambodia only ended in December 2025. In February 2026, recurring clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan reached a new intensity with Pakistani airstrikes. The civil war in Myanmar continues. Tensions regularly flare in the South China Sea. Taiwan — a focal point of many of the region's security issues — remains uncertain.
Above all, however, the growing rivalry between the United States and China dominated discussions, as China's rapidly expanding military is shifting the balance of power in the Asia-Pacific.
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Evan A. Laksmana, IISS Senior Fellow for Southeast Asian Security and Defense, summed it up in the SLD's annual security report: "Regional states — whether major, middle or small ones — cannot escape this worsening security environment."
Vietnamese President and General Secretary To Lam, who opened the conference Friday evening with a keynote speech, stressed that competition between states is natural — but must be contained: "The core principle is managing differences within a legal framework, making competition limited, responsible, and predictable. A sustainable regional order cannot be built on constant fear and mutual distrust."
He also emphasized that development and security are closely linked. "For many countries, development is not a secondary option after security."
