‘Shangri La Dialogue Focused On Looming China US Confrontation’

NEW DELHI: The Shangri-La dialogue held annually in Singapore is an opportunity to network with the top defence and military leadership in Asia. So, every defence minister from practically every corner of the world was there except India’s Rajnath Singh. Although Prime Minister Modi addressed the dialogue in June 2018, for some reason India’s top defence leadership has preferred to give it the go by, said Nitin Gokhale, Editor in Chief of Stratnews Global, who was one of those invited to the dialogue. Answering questions on The Gist, Gokhale said the focus was on the worsening relationship between the US and China especially in the context of Taiwan. While US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called for greater communication and urged the status quo, his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu breathed fire and ice, threatening the worst on any country that came between China and Taiwan. Tune in for more in this chat with Nitin Gokhale.