The International Institute for Strategic Studies' Shangri-La Dialogue has wrapped up its meeting in Singapore. The context for this year's summit was not propitious: Russia's bloody invasion of Ukraine grinds on, while Chinese President Xi Jinping continues his uncompromising approach to global affairs.
If one thing was obvious during the two days of defence diplomacy, it is that the Sino-US competition is far from being managed effectively. A robust bilateral dialogue is almost non-existent at the ministerial level, with military-to-military contact even more limited. Efforts by US President Joe Biden's administration to restart talks fizzled earlier this year after a Chinese spy balloon was shot down in US airspace.
As the US warns of an alarming increase in ominous intercepts from the Chinese military amid escalating tensions over Taiwan, US partners want China to talk. In delivering this year's Shangri-La keynote, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described more dialogue as the "first and most fundamental" guardrail on US-China relations.
