China Not Sending Its Defence Minister to Security Forum

Admiral Dong Jun, who attended in 2024, is reported to have faced investigations

- Lim Min Zhang

BEIJING — China will not send Defence Minister Dong Jun to the Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) in Singapore, in a departure from Beijing's high-level representation at the annual security forum in recent years.

Instead, China will send a People's Liberation Army National Defence University delegation, China's Ministry of Defence announced on May 29, just a day before the forum kicks off.

This will be the first time since 2019 that China has not sent its defence minister to the forum, where China's views on issues such as Taiwan and the South China Sea are closely watched.

This means that China cannot hold bilateral meetings at the ministerial level with other countries such as the United States.

The forum is being held from May 30 to June 1 in 2025.

At the 2024 forum, Admiral Dong met his then US counterpart Lloyd Austin for the first time on the sidelines of the event.

This year, the new administration of US President Donald Trump will be represented by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.

China's participation is among the highlights of the SLD. It is one of the few occasions where defence officials, academics and journalists from other countries can pose questions directly to a senior member of China's defence establishment.

Other countries also find value at the SLD in being able to hold bilateral meetings with the Chinese defence minister.

The annual forum began in 2002, but China sent its defence minister to the dialogue for the first time only in 2011.