By Xinhua,
Singapore : The 2008 Asia Security Summit, or the Shangri-La Dialogue, brought defense leaders and experts from 27 countries across the Asia-Pacific region to Singapore on Friday.
Since its inaugural meeting in 2002, the Shangri-La Dialogue organized by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), has been recognized as a key event for defense and security diplomacy for the region.
The three-day meeting officially opens on Friday evening with a keynote speech by Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is scheduled to make a speech on challenges to stability in the region on Saturday morning, followed by Ma Xiaotian, China’s deputy Chief of the General Staff of People’s Liberation Army, who is expected to address participants on the future of East Asian security.
During the meeting, participants will also discuss issues like making defense policy in uncertain times, climate change and Asia-Pacific security, as well as securing energy in the region.
Attendees also included defense ministers, chiefs of staff and other senior security policy-makers from Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, China, Timor-Leste, France, Germany, India, Indonesia Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, NATO, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States and Vietnam.