Shangri-La Dialogue 2025: U.S., EU, and Japan present competing doctrines for war preparedness in the Indo-Pacific

From May 30 to June 1, 2025, Singapore hosted the annual Shangri-La Dialogue, widely regarded as the premier security summit of the Indo-Pacific.

Unlike previous years, which focused on negotiations, this year’s forum served as a platform for articulating American, European, and Japanese strategies for global deterrence of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), with a clear emphasis on the Chinese military threat.

A defining feature of the Shangri-La Dialogue 2025 was the absence of China’s Minister of Defense — the first such absence since 2019. The traditional session involving senior officers of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was also canceled without prior announcement.