Minnie Chan
China has sent a lower-ranking delegation to a regional security forum in Singapore this weekend, and in stark contrast to previous events, none of its members will give a keynote speech.
Military sources suggested that leaders from the People’s Liberation Army could not attend as they were focused on overseeing reforms that will see huge cuts to the nation’s armed forces and preparing for a key Communist Party congress later this year.
A spokeswoman for China’s foreign ministry rejected suggestions by overseas media that the low-key presence at the Shangri-La Dialogue was due to the diplomatic spat with Singapore at the end of last year.
Nine Singapore armoured personnel carrier were impounded in Hong Kong in November after they had taken part in military exercises in Taiwan. Beijing considers the island a breakaway Chinese province and tries to limit its contracts with foreign dignitaries or governments.
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular press briefing on Thursday that the change in the delegation at this year’s forum was “to do with work arrangements”, but did not elaborate.
This year’s delegation at the security summit consists of only about a dozen military academics, the country’s smallest representation at the event in four years.
This contrasts with the US presence at the summit. US Secretary of Defence, James Mattis, will give the main speech at the first plenary session on Saturday.
China’s delegation at the forum over the past two years was led by Admiral Sun Jianguo. Sun, while not a member of the powerful Central Military Commission, is deputy chief of the Joint Staff Department, one of the 15 units under the CMC.
A Chinese military source told the South China Morning Post that PLA leaders were too busy to attend the forum due to pressing issues at home.
“There are so many big events this year such as the 90th anniversary of the PLA’s foundation, while the ongoing military reforms also makes every leader much busier,” the source said.
Zhou Chenming, a Chinese military expert, agreed that the pressing reforms to cut the size of the military to make it leaner and more efficient were the main reason for the limited presence in Singapore.
“Chinese military reform is at a critical juncture. The PLA’s four general headquarters will be reorganised into 15 units. Military officials are busy working now to ensure a better operational start when the reforms are over. So it’s not surprising that there’s no high-ranking official to attend the Shangri-La Dialogue.”
Another source close to the military said the upcoming Communist Party Congress in Beijing this autumn was another reason China had sent a lower-ranking group to the forum. The enclave will oversee changes to China’s top leadership.
China’s Singapore delegation is led by Lieutenant General He Lei, vice-president of the PLA Academy of Military Science. He will not give a keynote speech, but will speak during a session on security cooperation, according to an agenda released by forum organisers.
Meanwhile, the People’s Liberation Army has promised to send a higher ranking delegation to the summit next year.
Alexander Neill, Shangri-La Dialogue senior fellow For Asia-Pacific security, said a group from the summit visited Beijing three months ago was told that the PLA could not send a senior delegation this year because the military leadership was busy with domestic matters, in the 19th Communist Party national congress later this year and military reform.
One of the Chinese military sources said: “He can’t make a main speech like Sun because of his lower rank compared with Sun.
“The [forum] organisers have a rule that delegates making a speech at the plenary sessions should be at least deputy heads of a top military decision-making body, such as Admiral Sun.”
Chen Gang, an international relations expert at the National University of Singapore said China only sent military researchers to the forum before 2007 and that it was returning to this former practice.
“One possible reason is that regional issues such as South China Sea have cooled down, so China is not pressured to express its stance and opinion at this platform,” he said.
The Chinese delegation headed by Sun held at least 17 meetings with various groups from the Asia-Pacific region and Europe last year.
Media covering this year’s forum were informed that this year’s delegation would hold only one meeting with Singapore representatives on Friday evening.
However, one source said rules on the Chinese delegation speaking to the media would be more relaxed this year. Chinese delegates could speak to the press without being required to obtain prior approval from the Defence Ministry’s information office, said the source, who asked not to be named.
At least four Chinese delegates will speak during smaller sessions at the forum.
They include Major General Yao Yunzhu, a nuclear expert from the Academy of Military Science, and her colleague Lieutenant Colonel Zhao Xiaozhuo.
The forum has previously been a platform for the Chinese military to make contact with the militaries of Southeast Asian nations, especially during times of tension over sovereignty disputes in the South China Sea.
Sun projected a reconciliatory tone to China’s Asean neighbours in his speeches at the forum over the past two years as Beijing competed with the US for influence.
But the dynamics have shifted in the South China Sea and this year’s forum is likely to be dominated by discussions about North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme.
The three-day forum runs from Friday to Sunday and the keynote speech will be given by Australia’s Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull.
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