Lorenzana to discuss terrorism at top int’l security forum in Singapore
SINGAPORE — Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana will lead the Philippine delegation at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore from June 1 to 3.
Shangri-La Dialogue, held in Singapore’s Shangri-La Hotel, is one of the world’s high-level security forums attended by defense ministers, military chiefs, and security experts from Asia and other countries concerned with the region’s stability.
Lorenzana is scheduled to discuss new dimensions of terrorism in Asia on June 3.
Marawi City in southern Philippines was a site of a five-month battle between ISIS-linked terrorists and government forces last year, which left the city in ruins and over a thousand people killed. It was the country’s biggest security crisis in recent years.
Aside from the threat of terrorism, the Philippines is also facing challenges on the South China Sea, a vital sea lane mostly claimed by China, but the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia have overlapping claims.
The forum comes a few weeks after China reportedly deployed bombers and missiles in the South China Sea for the first time, which raised concerns of several nations.
On Wednesday, the Philippine government revealed that it had filed a diplomatic protest over China’s continuing militarization in the Spratlys and its harassment of Philippine Navy forces in Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal) last May 11.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver the keynote speech for the Shangri-La Dialogue on Friday, focusing on India’s expanding role in the Indo-Pacific.
US Defense Secretary James Mattis will speak on US leadership and challenges in the region on Saturday.
The summit is organized by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.
On the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue is the Southeast Asian Young Leaders’ Program, which brings together representatives from the government departments, the armed forces, the private sector, the academe, and the media with strong interest in regional security issues. /vvp
