Minh Hoang\/Pool\/Reuters<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a signal that they are concerned about the level of engagement, specifically with the United States, to send a message that everything is not completely normal within that and there\u2019s probably some other underlying reasons about just uncertainty about what Shangri-La is intended to accomplish,\u201d the official said. <\/p>\n
China has traditionally had few friends at Shangri-La and its speakers face real-time, unscripted questioning from journalists and academics attending the conference. <\/p>\n
Last year, Defense Minister Dong faced tough questions after, in a Friday note keynote speech, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. denounced illegal, coercive and aggressive actions in the South China Sea in an apparent allusion to China. <\/p>\n
China\u2019s military has also been in the spotlight in recent years as its top ranks have been roiled by a sweeping corruption purge, with more than a dozen high-ranking figures in China\u2019s defense establishment ousted since 2023. <\/p>\n
Analysts said the absence of a high-level Chinese delegation at the defense summit may signal Beijing is emphasizing economics and trade over military relations in its foreign affairs at this time. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhile surely security engagements such (the Shangri-La Dialogue) \u2026 do matter in the broader scheme of geopolitics, at this juncture it seems regional governments are perhaps even more concerned about the tariff impact on their economies,\u201d said Collin Koh, a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore <\/p>\n
Ahead of the weekend conference, much attention has focused on how US-led alliances across the region that grew during the Biden administration would hold up under Trump\u2019s second term. <\/p>\n
There was broad consensus among analysts that unlike the turmoil Trump has caused in Europe \u2013 with threats to pull back from NATO and abandon Ukraine in its fight against Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013 the US role in Asia has largely been consistent, centered on a policy to counter Chinese influence and back Taiwan. <\/p>\n
Hegseth\u2019s first trip to Asia as Defense Secretary began in the Philippines \u2013 on the front lines of China\u2019s increasingly aggressive posture in Asia \u2013 where he said the US would work with allies to \u201creestablish deterrence\u201d to counter \u201cChina\u2019s aggression\u201d in the Indo-Pacific. <\/p>\n
On Friday, during an early morning workout with sailors aboard a US Navy ship in Singapore, he had a similar message: <\/p>\n
\u201cWe send the signal to our allies and partners, hey, here in the Indo Pacific, America\u2019s here, and we\u2019re not going anywhere. We\u2019re here to deter adversaries who would seek us harm.\u201d Analysts noted that US-led military exercises, especially those involving key allies Japan, Australia, the Philippines and South Korea, have continued or even been bolstered in 2025. <\/p>\n
But while increased US involvement is welcome by those participating in such exercises, Washington must be careful they don\u2019t aggravate China so much that new tensions threaten the security of regional nations that are not US treaty allies, said Evan Laksmana, editor of the 2025 Asia Pacific Regional Security Assessment compiled by the International Institute of Strategic Studies. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe deepening of US security engagement is welcome but not so far on the strategic side that it raises tensions,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
On Thursday, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang said China \u201cattaches great importance to the military relations\u201d with the US, but warned Washington against \u201cconjuring up a powerful enemy for itself whether intentionally or unintentionally.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cSuch imagination is not rational and extremely dangerous,\u201d Zhang said. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
This post appeared first on cnn.com<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
China will not send its defense minister to this year\u2019s Shangri-La Dialogue, shunning a chance for a high-level meeting with US and Asian counterparts as tensions simmer with Washington. China announced Thursday it will instead be represented by a delegation from the People\u2019s Liberation Army National Defense University, marking the first time in five years <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16812,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-16811","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16811"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16811\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}