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| Stephen Smith: Minister for Defence |
Tomorrow, I (Stephen Smith: Minister for Defence) depart Australia for Singapore for the 12th International Institute for Strategic Studies Asia Security Dialogue: The Shangri-La Dialogue.
This is my fourth visit to Singapore as Defence Minister, and the third time I have attended the Shangri-La Dialogue, maintaining Australian Defence Ministers’ record of attending every Shangri-La Dialogue since its inception in 2002.
I will be joined at the Dialogue by the Chief of the Defence Force, General David Hurley.
I look forward to participating in the Shangri-La Dialogue and the plenary session discussion on Military Modernisation and Strategic Transparency.
In addition to participating in the Dialogue, I also look forward to holding bilateral talks with my Defence Ministerial counterparts on a range of defence and security issues of mutual interest.
I look forward to holding the inaugural Australia, East Timor, Indonesia Trilateral Defence Ministers’ Dialogue and the second Australia, Japan, United States Trilateral Defence Ministers’ Dialogue.
The (Shangri-La) Dialogue is attended by Defence Ministers from across the Indo-Pacific and is an opportunity to strengthen Australia’s bilateral defence relationships, progress defence cooperation initiatives and enhance regional security mechanisms.