China stays away from the Shangri-La dialogue-USA are alarm!

China stays away from the Shangri-La dialogue-USA are alarm!

Singapore, Singapur - On May 31, 2025, the tensions between the USA and China increased at a critical point. The Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun was not published on Shangri-La Dialog in Singapore, which was considered an alarming sign. This marks the first time since 2019 that a Chinese Minister of Defense does not take part in this important regional forum, not taking exclusions into account due to COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021. Instead, China sent a delegation with representatives of lower ranks.

US defense minister Pete Hegseth took the opportunity to highlight the impending military threat from China. In his speech, he pointed out China's military exercises around Taiwan and incidents in the South China Sea and described them as a proactive harassment of the neighbors. Hegseth appealed to Asian nations to significantly increase their defense spending and referred to Germany's commitment to issue 5% of the gross domestic product for defense.

expectations of cooperation

Incredibly interesting conversations took place between Hegseth and his Chinese counterpart, Dong Jun, who were held on the edge of the Shangri-La dialogue. It was the first personal meeting of the two ministers since 2022, which underlines the urgency of the Situation. According to Senior Colonel Wu Qian, spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Defense, the meeting was "positive, practical and constructive". Topics such as relationships between the two military, Taiwan, the South China Sea and the Ukraine crisis were discussed in detail.

A remarkable point was the discussion about the establishment of a working group for crisis communication that is part of the future political communication agreements. This shows the will of both sides to maintain the dialogue, despite the existing tensions. Dong Jun asked the United States to refrain from “false signals” to Taiwanese independence and correct their “mistakes”.

military disputes in the South China Sea

The concerns about China's military expansion are increasing, especially in the South China Sea, where China still militarizes in controversial areas. In a recent incident, the United States was excluded for the second time because China violates the rules in response to the militarization of this region, so China cannot participate in the Rimpac maneuvers. The US Department of Defense has determined that China has stationed rockets for ship defense and electronic interference on the Spratly Islands.

Chinese representatives, including the diplomat Wang Yi, described the exclusion as "very unconstructive" and emphasized that China's military activities served. Wang pointed out that China's activities are reaction to the US military exercises in the region, especially on Guam and Hawaii.

The events show the complexity of the relationship between the two global powers and the increasing pressure on the governments of the region to seriously evaluate the security situation.