SINGAPORE – A top security conference here that was to be attended by United States Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga was today cancelled due to Covid-19.
The Shangri-La Dialogue was scheduled to be an in-person event on June 4 and 5, and was also set to welcome ministers and senior military officials from around the world.
But, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the think tank that organises the annual event, said it has become “unviable”.
“Unfortunately, the global Covid-19 situation has recently deteriorated, in part because of the rise in infectious new Covid-19 variants,” it said in a statement.
The institute noted that there has been an increase in local transmissions in Singapore, leading to a tightening of restrictions.
Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said cancelling the forum is the “responsible course” of action as the pandemic has “taken a turn for the worse, especially in parts of Asia, aggravated by more infectious variants”.
“The next few weeks will remain challenging and uncertain.”
It is the second year in a row that the conference, which has been running since 2002, is cancelled due to the virus.
The news comes after the World Economic Forum this week said it has called off its planned annual gathering of political, economic and business leaders in the republic that had been set for August.
In the past, the US has used the Shangri-La Dialogue as a platform to criticise Beijing over its militarisation of the South China Sea, and to reassure Asian allies of its support in the face of China’s growing might. – AFP, May 20, 2021
