SINGAPORE, Sunday 2 June 2013 – Defence Diplomacy and Conflict Prevention, Avoiding Incidents at Sea and Advancing Defence Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific are some of the issues discussed during the Shangri-La Dialogue this year. The three-day event, which began on Friday, started off with a keynote address delivered during the opening dinner by the Prime Minister of Vietnam, Nguyen Tan Dung. In his keynote address, the Prime Minister underlined the importance of strategic trust in ensuring peace, cooperation and prosperity in the region.
Also presenting at the Dialogue was the Secretary of Defense of the United States, Chuck Hagel, who urged the region to continue and strengthen existing alliances, forge new partnerships, and build coalitions based on common interests in meeting the challenges of the 21st century.
The Brunei Darussalam delegation was headed by the Deputy Minister of Defence, Dato Mustappa bin Haji Sirat, accompanied by the Permanent Secretary (Defence Policy and Development), Colonel (Retd) Pengiran Dato Paduka Haji Azmansham bin Pengiran Haji Mohamad and the Commander of Royal Brunei Land Force, Brigadier General Dato Seri Pahlawan Haji Yussof bin Haji Abdul Rahman.
The Permanent Secretary made a presentation in one of the special sessions on Defence Diplomacy and Conflict Prevention, where he stressed on how current efforts in defence diplomacy have contributed to confidence-building and conflict prevention in the region. He also emphasised on how those efforts have increased the capacity and capabilities of countries to work together in confronting security challenges.
Discussions in this session also touched on the need to establish closer links and enhanced communication in both strategic and operational levels so as to build strategic trust and mutual confidence, and prevent further escalation of conflicts, such as through establishing hotlines.
The Deputy Minister, the Permanent Secretary and the Commander of Royal Brunei Land Force made a joint call on the Minister of Defence of Singapore, Dr Ng Eng Hen. They conducted bilateral meetings with the Secretary of Defense of the United States and also the Commander of the United States Pacific Command (US PACOM), Admiral Samuel Locklear. They also met on the sidelines with the Minister of Defence of New Zealand, the Honourable Dr Jonathan Coleman, as well as the Minister of Defence of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.
The Permanent Secretary had bilateral meetings with the Deputy Minister of Defence of Vietnam, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chin Vinh; the Undersecretary for Legal and Legislative Affairs and Strategic Concerns, the Philippines, Pio Lorenzo F. Batino; the Administrative Vice Minister of Defence, Japan, Masanari Nishi; Permanent Secretary (Defence) of Singapore, Chiang Chie Foo; and the Secretary-General, Ministry of Defence of Malaysia, Dato Ser/Sri Dr Haji Ismail bin Haji Ahmad. Meanwhile, the Commander of Royal Brunei Land Force had a bilateral meeting with the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Lieutenant General Emmanuel T. Bautista.
The Shangri-La Dialogue is an annual event organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) aimed at building confidence and fostering practical security cooperation in the Asia-Pacific and beyond.