Zelenskyy said that Ukraine had proposals to make at the summit as a basis for peace, addressing nuclear security, food security, the release of prisoners of war and the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.
“Time is running out, and the children are growing up in the Putin-land where they are taught to hate their homeland,” he said.
At the same time, Zelenskyy said Ukraine is “ready to hear various proposals and thoughts that lead us ... to an end of the war and a sustainable and just peace.”
The greater the participation, the more likely it will be that Russia will have to listen, he said.
“The global majority can ensure with their involvement that what is agreed upon is truly implemented,” he said.
Zelenskyy said he planned to meet one-on-one with Singapore’s prime minister and would urge him to participate in person in the Switzerland talks.
“The same goes for the countries in the region,” Zelenskyy said through an interpreter. “We truly count on you supporting this summit, and that you will be present in Switzerland.”
Speaking during a press conference, Jing said: “The PLA will never stop enhancing combat readiness, never stop our fight against Taiwan independence forces and never be soft on defeating external interference.”
Jing said that the United States had “betrayed its promise, hollowed out the one-China principle” and armed the island.
Describing the situation in the Taiwan Strait as “grim”, he added that “Taiwan independence means war”.
Jing also accused Taiwan’s new leader William Lai Ching-te of pushing the island towards the “abyss of disaster” and being “the main culprit” in undermining the status quo in cross-strait ties.
Beijing viewed Lai’s inauguration speech last month as provocative. Days later, the PLA kicked off two days of large-scale military drills around the island. The exercises drew concerns from several countries, including the US.
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Defence ministers from China and US meet on sidelines of Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore
Defence ministers from China and US meet on sidelines of Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore
China’s new Defence Minister Dong Jun held his first face-to-face meeting with Austin on the sidelines of the forum on Friday. During the talks, Dong accused Washington of sending the wrong signals to Taiwan independence forces.
Two PLA military vessels entered restricted waters off the Taiwan-controlled island of Quemoy, also known as Kinmen, on Wednesday, the Taiwanese military said on Saturday.
The PLA’s recent exercise was a “rehearsal” for possible combat operations against Taiwan in the future, said PLA Lieutenant General He Lei on the sidelines of the conference.
“This military exercise is the closest to actual combat for the PLA’s task forces to familiarise themselves with the battlefield environment, strengthen coordination, and improve command capabilities,” He said. “I think it was a rehearsal of one of our combat plans.”
He added there was a risk of war between the PLA and US military, and said Washington’s support for the Philippines and Taiwan independence forces, posed “extreme” risks.
Beijing does not want to see Washington get involved in a war in the Taiwan Strait, he added, “but we do have countermeasures if that happens”.
The United States, in common with most countries, does not recognise Taiwan as independent, but it is opposed to any attempt to take the island by force and is committed to providing it with arms to defend itself.
The PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command said the exercises were “punishment” for “Taiwan separatists” and a “severe warning” to outside forces intent on interference and provocation.
A large screen in Beijing shows a map of military drills conducted by the Eastern Theatre Command of the People’s Liberation Army in five areas around Taiwan on May 23. Photo: Reuters
During the PLA press conference on Saturday morning, Jing also accused the US of seeking to build an Asia-Pacific version of Nato to maintain its hegemony in the region. The comment was in response to Austin’s remarks about strengthening alliances and partnerships across the region.
Jing also addressed tensions between Beijing and Manila over the South China Sea, saying “provocations” by the Philippines and interference by the US were the root of the problem.
Chinese and Philippine coastguard ships have been involved in a series of confrontations around disputed reefs.
PLA Major General Xu Hui said that while the US would continue to strengthen its alliances in the Pacific region, “it does not necessarily mean that China and the US would engage in conflict ”.
“[Austin] may not want direct conflict with China over the Philippine issue,” Xu said.
During their talks on Friday, Dong and Austin agreed to maintain communications between the two militaries.
Washington should “exercise some restraint” and “encourage the Philippines to talk to us, rather than encourage the Philippines to provoke”, Xu said, adding that this would also be beneficial for the US.
PLA Senior Colonel Zhou Bo said Austin was “restrained” in his speech when it came to Taiwan, noting that his remarks about “so-called punishment” stopped short of directly mentioning Beijing.
He is also set to ask attendees at the conference to attend and support a "peace summit", scheduled for Jun 15 to 16, in Switzerland.
“Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s presence at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue comes at an important time. We eagerly await his remarks,” said IISS Director-General and Chief Executive Bastian Giegerich.
Mr Zelenskyy later posted on X that he would also hold meetings with Singapore's President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Timor-Leste's President Jose Ramos-Horta, Mr Austin and "Singaporean investors".
"Global security is impossible when the world's largest country disregards recognised borders, international law and the UN Charter, resorts to hunger, darkness and nuclear blackmail," he added.
"Restoring just peace for Ukraine and ensuring global food and nuclear security will be the aims of the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland. And this is why the Asia-Pacific voice must be heard there."
The Shangri-La Dialogue is Asia’s premier defence summit to discuss critical security challenges in the Asia-Pacific. Security assistance for Ukraine was one of the key issues discussed at this year's dialogue.
The Shangri-La Dialogue, held annually in Singapore by IISS, started on Friday and ends on Sunday.
That morning, we visited the Tsunami Memorial Park Nakanohama, home to a former campsite with the battered remains of a kitchen and lavatory. Our hike took us to Jodogahama Beach, which featured white sandstone cliffs and calm bays. The payoff was worth it, as we luxuriated in the spacious rooms and onsens of Jodogahama Park Hotel.
As we left the remote rocky coastline of northern Tohoku for Miyako city, the landscape changed to scenic inlets and calm bays.
One of the worst-hit cities, large parts of Miyako have been newly rebuilt. Here, we walked our final stretch: The Hama Kaido, an ancient trail from the Edo period that was originally the main thoroughfare between the coast and Sendai, Tohoku's principal city. Once used to transport products such as salt, iron and seafood, it became a makeshift path by tsunami rescue workers when roads proved impassable.
Our final day saw us visiting Funio Sakamoto, one of the few kesen-daiku carpenters known for building Japan’s intricate temples and shrines, including the grand Meiji Jingu shrine in Tokyo. We admired his handiwork as we walked through another stretch of the Hama-kaido, where torii shrine gates lined an atmospheric narrow gorge with waterfalls.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin addressing a plenary session at the 21st Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on June 1.
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
SINGAPORE – The United States wants to step up the enmeshing of its strategic alliances and partnerships in Asia into a “new convergence” based on the rule of law – a commitment that its Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin said will continue regardless of the outcome of the US election in November.
Mr Austin evoked “a future of fresh and growing partnerships” in a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue on June 1, which immediately elicited a question from a Chinese delegate on whether the US was planning to build “a Nato-like system in the Asia-Pacific region”.
In response, the US Secretary of Defence described it as a strengthening of relationships with allies and partners based on a common vision and common values.
His rejection of the Chinese delegate’s suggestion that Nato’s eastern expansion was responsible for the war in Ukraine also elicited applause from many in the audience.
While China and the US are competing for influence in the Asia-Pacific region, Mr Austin sought to allay concerns from allies that Washington has become too distracted by other flashpoints in the world, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the crisis in Gaza.
“Despite these historic clashes in Europe and the Middle East, the Indo-Pacific has remained our priority theatre of operations,” he said.
“The actions that we take together here will continue shaping the 21st century for the entire world. And safeguarding the security and prosperity of this region remains the core organising principle of US national security policy.”
He declared: “The United States can be secure only if Asia is, and that’s why the United States has long maintained its presence in this region.”
Mr Austin was attempting to assuage concerns that a new US president following the election in November may prompt a rollback of the Biden administration’s focus on the Asia-Pacific region.
Instead, he told the security conference that “today we are witnessing a new convergence around nearly all aspects of security in the Indo-Pacific”.
“This new convergence is producing a stronger, more resilient, and more capable network of partnerships,” he added. “It isn’t about imposing one country’s will; it’s about summoning our sense of common purpose.”
He pointed to the US partnerships with Japan and India in defence technology, the Aukus defence technology transfer partnership with Australia and the United Kingdom, and the help given to South-east Asian nations in technology and training to uphold freedom of navigation in their waters.
“We’re also investing with Asean in training and educational opportunities for the future defence leaders of South-east Asia,” he said.
“It isn’t about bullying or coercion; it’s about the free choices of sovereign states. And it’s about nations of goodwill uniting around the interests that we share and the values that we cherish,” added Mr Austin, without making overt references to China in his prepared comments.
He said that common principles include a respect for sovereignty and international law, free flow of commerce and ideas, freedom of the seas and skies, as well as the peaceful resolution of disputes through dialogue, “not coercion or conflict, and certainly not through so-called punishment”.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin taking part in a Q&A segment during a plenary session at the 21st Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on June 1, 2024. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
The Shangri-La Dialogue 2024, which is taking place at the Shangri-La Hotel from May 31 to June 2, comes just over a week after China launched military drills on May 23 in the Taiwan Strait as a “punishment” and warning to Taiwan’s newly inaugurated President Lai Ching-te, whom Beijing regards as a “dangerous separatist”.
Beijing has never ceded its claim over Taiwan, which has been self-governing since the Chinese nationalist party, or Kuomintang, fled to the island from the mainland following its defeat in the Chinese Civil War in 1949.
In the South China Sea, there have been dangerous skirmishes between Chinese and Filipino coast guard vessels. The US is bound by treaty to come to the Philippines’ support in the event of an attack.
“What we have, frankly, in our relationship with China, is a relationship based on competition. We’re not looking for a contentious relationship,” Mr Austin said in response to an audience question. “A fight with China is neither imminent nor unavoidable.”
Beijing has rejected a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague that struck down its expansive claims over large swathes of the crucial waterway that is also rich in minerals, saying they lack legal basis.
China views the warming ties between Nato and some Asia-Pacific nations as a threat.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation was a peacetime military alliance established in 1949 to provide collective security against the threat posed by the former Soviet Union.
Mr Austin had earlier met his Chinese counterpart for the first time in 18 months on the sidelines of the 2024 forum on May 31, after being rebuffed by Admiral Dong Jun’s predecessor at the 2023 dialogue.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen have made multiple working visits to China since the US and China resumed dialogue in late 2023, culminating in a meeting between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping in San Francisco on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ summit in November 2023.
“The key issue here is that we’re talking,” Mr Austin said in response to an audience question. “And I told (Admiral) Dong that if he calls me on an urgent matter, I will answer the phone, and I hope he will do the same.”
"Donald Trump was given every opportunity to defend himself," Biden said. He noted that the case against Trump in New York was brought by the state, that it was not a federal case, and that the verdict was delivered by "a jury of 12 citizens, 12 Americans, 12 people like you".
The US justice system has endured for nearly 250 years, Biden said, and he criticised Trump and his supporters for attempting to tear it down with false allegations.
"It's reckless, it's dangerous, it's irresponsible for anyone to say this was rigged just because they don't like the verdict," Biden said.
