China's low profile at defense forum leaves US room to woo Asia

Beijing slams Hegseth speech but cedes Shangri-La spotlight in Singapore

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China's Hu Gangfeng leads a delegation from the People's Liberation Army National Defense University at this year's Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, in the absence of Defense Minister Dong Jun. © Reuters

DYLAN LOH and NORMAN GOH

June 1, 2025 12:20 JST

SINGAPORE -- A Sunday morning speaking slot at the Shangri-La Dialogue reserved for a high-ranking Chinese military official was left unfilled, after China scaled down its presence at the annual Singapore defense forum.

Beijing -- which, unlike in recent years, did not send its defense minister to the summit -- ceded an opportunity to rebut U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who on Saturday used the same prime time slot to tout America's engagement in the Indo-Pacific region. Without a prominent speaker from China, Sunday's program started an hour later than originally planned.