Chinese Defense Minister misses Shangri-La Dialogue for second consecutive year; delegation level downgraded

(CNA, Taipei, 29th) Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun has missed the Shangri-La Dialogue for the second consecutive year. The Chinese delegation is led by Professor Meng Xiangqing of the People's Liberation Army National Defense University. The Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual security forum in the Asia-Pacific region, begins today in Singapore for three days. According to the official schedule, there is no special session themed around China this year. Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao reported that 65-year-old Meng Xiangqing holds the rank of Major General and is also a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. He previously served as deputy director and director of the Strategic Research Institute of the National Defense University, but currently holds no administrative position. It is believed that having a Major General without an administrative position lead the delegation to the Shangri-La Dialogue is the lowest level of participation for China since 2007. The report also stated that Chinese Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Jiang Bin did not proactively announce the Chinese delegation's participation at a regular press conference on the 28th. Only after being asked by the media did Jiang Bin respond that a delegation of PLA experts and scholars would attend the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore upon invitation, led by Meng Xiangqing, and including experts and scholars from the National Defense University, the Academy of Military Sciences, and the Navy. Jiang Bin said, "China attaches importance to defense and security cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region and actively participates in various constructive dialogues. The experts and scholars sent this time will deeply explain China's concepts and initiatives, committed to building trust, reaching consensus, and deepening cooperation, and jointly contributing wisdom and strength to maintaining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific." The report stated that Dong Jun's absence from the Shangri-La Dialogue means that the organizer, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in the UK, will not arrange for the PLA delegation to speak at the plenary session as per custom. According to the schedule previously released by IISS, the theme of the plenary session on the 31st was originally "China's Partnerships in the Asia-Pacific Region," but it has been changed to "Addressing Regional Tensions in Global Competition," no longer a special session themed around China, signaling in advance that the Chinese Defense Minister would not attend. IISS's official website shows that Meng Xiangqing and former Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai, who previously attended as Vice Foreign Minister, will each participate in separate breakout sessions on the 30th. Dong Jun's absence from the Shangri-La Dialogue also means that the US and Chinese defense ministers will be unable to meet during the dialogue. However, Jiang Bin confirmed in response to media questions at the press conference that during US President Trump's recent visit to China, the defense ministers of the two countries had exchanged views on military-to-military relations and issues of common concern. Regarding military exchanges, "both sides will make good use of dialogue and communication channels at all levels to jointly implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state."