Hishammuddin attends Shangri-La Dialogue 2016

SINGAPORE: Malaysian Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein is attending the three- day 15th Shangri- La Dialogue security forum which opened here yesterday.

Hishammuddin is scheduled to join his counterparts from India and Japan, Manohar Parrikar and Gen Nakatani respectively, at the second plenary session today to discuss ‘Managing Military Competition in Asia’.

The International Institute for Strategic Studies ( IISS), which organises the conference, said in a statement yesterday that this year’s conference takes place against the backdrop of growing tensions over the South China Sea, North Korea’s military provocations, and renewed concerns over jihadist terrorism.

Delegates will discuss these immediate challenges, as well as more enduring policy questions such as how to develop military capabilities in a time of tightened defence budgets, how to cope with cyber threats and how to pursue common security objectives, it said.

The high level of debate will allow participants to clarify national policies, air differences of perspective, and find areas of agreement and potential cooperation, it added.

It said that over 560 delegates from 52 nations, including 32 official delegations, were participating in this year’s dialogue.

Participants comprise foreign and defence ministers, senior security officials, military chiefs, the diplomatic community, and executives from the corporate and academic sectors, with a significant media presence.

Thailand Prime Minister Gen ( Rtd) Prayut Chan- o- cha will deliver a keynote address while United States Secretary of Defence Dr Ashton Carter will deliver the first plenary speech on ‘Meeting Asia’s Complex Security Challenges’.

Other nations to be represented by their defence ministers include Canada, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam. — Bernama