Minister for Defence Mr Teo Chee Hean hosted visiting Ministers and their representatives to a private luncheon on 4 June 2005. A second Ministerial Luncheon will be held on 5 June 2005. The Ministers are in Singapore to attend the Fourth Shangri-La Dialogue organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
The luncheon provided an opportunity for the Ministers to engage in an informal discussion on a wide range of defence and security issues. The Ministerial Luncheon has been a regular feature of the Shangri-La Dialogue since it was initiated in 2002. A total of 17 Ministers or their representatives attended the private luncheon.
The Ministers had a useful exchange of perspectives on the regional security landscape, with some focus on the situation on the Korean Peninsula. A number of Ministers also shared their countries’ perspectives on the global threat of extremism and terrorism. In addition, the Ministers engaged in a useful discussion on the issue of regional maritime security, particularly in the Malacca Straits.
The Ministers agreed that regional maritime security was a matter of common concern and noted that a consensus was forming around three broad principles: that the primary responsibility for the security of regional waterways lay with the littoral states; that there was nonetheless a significant role to be played by the user states and the international community; and that new cooperative measures should be forged in a manner that was respectful of sovereignty and consistent with international law. There was broad agreement on the need to enhance practical forms of maritime security cooperation in accordance with these three principles.
