China’s growing influence and ability to act as a peace broker took centre stage at this year’s Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, where regional leaders and defence chiefs also pushed for a renewed commitment to the global rules-based order.
Singapore’s Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen summed up the mood on Sunday, the final day of the three-day security forum, when he said the system of global governance in place since the end of World War II “guarantees the security and survival of large nations and small”.
He made the remarks while welcoming Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose surprise appearance at the event Ng said was “the epitome of what we are all hoping for: a rules-based order”.
