Governmental delegations will be coming from Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, China, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Vietnam.
The Dialogue will feature opportunities to advance Asia-Pacific defence diplomacy such as the on-the-record plenary sessions, the off-the-record break-out groups, and the multilateral lunches and dinners.
IISS said the Shangri-La Dialogue this time around involves more participants and representatives than in previous years.
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will be in Singapore over the weekend for the annual Asia-Pacific Defence Consultation, dubbed "The Shangri-La Dialogue."
The informal dialogue from tomorrow till Sunday brings together the defence ministers, chiefs of defence and permanent heads of defence ministries of the Asean Regional Forum (ARF).
It will be opened by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at 8pm tomorrow.
The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), which is the organiser for the dialogue, confirmed Rumsfeld's attendance.
"The programme includes addresses by US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld, Indian Minister of Defence Pranab Mukherjee, Japanese Minister of State for Defence Fukushiro Nukaga and Indonesian Minister of Defence Prof Juwono Sudarsono," IISS said in a statement today.
Rumsfeld was also here last year for the 4th Shangri-La Dialogue.
Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak will also be attending the dialogue and will address the plenary session on Sunday.
Among the topics are The US and Asia's Emerging Security Architecture; India and China: Rising Global Players; Deploying Forces for International Security; Advancing Maritime Security Cooperation; and Constructing A Regional Security Community.
Governmental delegations will be coming from Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, China, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Vietnam.
The Dialogue will feature opportunities to advance Asia-Pacific defence diplomacy such as the on-the-record plenary sessions, the off-the-record break-out groups, and the multilateral lunches and dinners.
IISS said the Shangri-La Dialogue this time around involves more participants and representatives than in previous years.
