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Shangri-la Dialogue 2026
Asia’s top security summit is still focused on the last war
Rather than forcing Asia’s premier security forum to take on more issues, why not give emerging threats the dedicated forum they deserve?
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A South Korean soldier with a multi-purpose tactical drone during a military exercise on May 21. Emerging security threats, from quantum technology to drone warfare, urgently need to become mainstream conversations, the writer argues.
PHOTO: AFP
In recent years, whenever the Shangri-La Dialogue rolls around, regular attendees can be sure to be pulled into a familiar discussion: Does this annual shindig in Singapore for Asia-Pacific defence chiefs – now entering its 23rd edition – need a refresh?
Has it become too dominated by superpower agendas, or too bogged down by the immediate crises of the day, whether these are tensions in the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea dispute, the war in Ukraine, or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
