August 23rd 2004
SINGAPORE has inked a deal to host, for the next three years, an international security forum that is acknowledged as a must-attend in Asia by many defence ministers, armed forces chiefs and top security planners.
The agreement with the London-based think-tank, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), is for the annual IISS Asia Security Conference: The Shangri-La Dialogue.
The three-day meeting has been dubbed the Shangri-La Dialogue after the luxury hotel in Singapore where the event has been held since its inception in 2001.
Speaking from the IISS head office in London, Dr Tim Huxley, senior fellow for Asia-Pacific Security, said the institute and the Singapore Government have agreed to hold the talks here every year from next year to 2007.
Next year's talks are due to be held from June 3 to 5.
Several countries in the region, such as Australia and Japan, had eyed the possibility of hosting the prestigious talks.
In the past three years, the forum had become a must for defence chiefs in the Asia-Pacific as it is the only inter-governmental forum in Asia focusing on defence and security-related topics.
These talks are important for nurturing defence diplomacy as no other regional event brings so many defence ministers together for face-to-face talks that are frank and wide-ranging.
However, hosting top-tier delegates from the defence and security community is demanding, requiring Singapore to assign sizeable resources from the Singapore Armed Forces, civil defence, police and other government agencies to provide security for the event.
The Shangri-La also becomes a protected zone as security forces ring it for safety. Among other checks, road blocks are set up in the vicinity to check on all road users.
Dr Huxley believes that the event continues to interest security analysts because of its scope and the people who turn up.
'This is a high-level ministerial forum, with participation also from military chiefs of staff, top-ranking civilian defence officials and intelligence chiefs, who collectively lend authority to the debate.
'However, the participation of non-official representatives from think-tanks and the academic world undoubtedly enriched the discussions.'
Shangri-La is confident that its past experiences will help ensure success.
Said its area manager and general manager, Mr Cetin Sekercioglu: 'It is definitely a positive endorsement for the hotel.
'Having successfully gone through three Shangri-La Dialogues, we are accustomed to the unique needs of the event and confident that this ongoing partnership will continue to yield more successes.'
