The 14th Shangri-La Dialogue, widely recognized as Asia-Pacific's foremost defense and security summit, kicked off here on Friday with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong delivering the keynote speech focusing on balance of power, regional cooperation and terrorism.
PM Lee Hsien Loong said China has become the second biggest economy in the world and the largest or second largest trading partner of nearly every country in the Asia-Pacific region.
"So far China's rise has been peaceful within the established international order. The key to this continuing is the U.S.-China relationship," said PM Lee.
He believed Sino-U.S. relationship is not a zero-sum game, there are elements of competition as well as many interdependencies and opportunities for mutual benefit.
Lee said that other countries in Asia-Pacific region also play a role in the regional power balance, for instance, India is emerging as a major player in Asia.
At the end of the keynote speech, the prime minister elaborated the scenario of next 50 years in his mind. "50 years from now, I doubt the scourge of extremist terrorism will have entirely disappeared," he said.
On the broader issues, PM Lee hoped that a stable regional balance would continue to exist.
"I hope that we will continue to have an open global system of trade, investment and economic cooperation, and certainly free trade in the Asia-Pacific instead of the current alphabet soup of trading arrangements."
Admiral Sun Jianguo, vice chief of staff of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA), leads the Chinese delegation to the dialogue this year. Sun is scheduled to delivered a speech on Sunday.
Organized by the London-based think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), the Shangri-La Dialogue brings together defense chiefs from 26 nations here as well as security experts to exchange views on key issues that shape the defense and security landscape of the region.
