Shangri-La Dialogue 2026: Less Dialogue, More Ships? What Asia Heard from Washington

The 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue was held in Singapore from May 29 to 31, 2026. As the first major regional security forum following the Beijing summit between the Chinese and U.S. presidents, the Dialogue provided an important opportunity to assess the trajectory of China-U.S. relations and the evolving security landscape in the Asia-Pacific. In this episode of Sinopinion, Da Wei, Director of the Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS) at Tsinghua University, and Shao Yuqun, Director of the Institute for Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS), are joined by Zhou Bo, Research Fellow at CISS, and Jerry Jin, journalist with the International Communication Center of the Oriental Broadcasting Center. Drawing on their observations and first-hand experiences at the Dialogue, they examine the strategic messages conveyed in U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s keynote speech, discuss developments in the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy and alliance network, regional multilateral security mechanisms, and broader security dynamics in the Asia-Pacific, and explore how China and the United States can work toward building a constructive framework for strategic stability between China and the United States. 02:12 Key Differences in This Year's Shangri-La Dialogue 06:49 The Taiwan Question and New Dynamics in China-U.S. Relations 15:23 Why China's Delegation Drew Attention 19:47 Strategic Messages from Pete Hegseth's Speech 26:35 Alliance Burden-Sharing and the Future of U.S. Partnerships 35:20 Can “Constructive Strategic Stability” Become a New China-U.S. Framework 42:07 ASEAN Perspectives on Improving China-U.S. Relations 43:12 Quad, AUKUS and the Evolution of Regional Minilateralism 49:00 ASEAN Centrality and Strategic Autonomy 52:10 Japan's Security Policy and Historical Memory 56:52 The Future of the Asia-Pacific Security Order Executive Producer：GUO Jia Producer：GUO Mingxinyi Podcast Editor：CHAI Jingru Content Assistant: ZHONG Huiqing