This weekend, the People's Liberation Army delegation started a 48-hour incense meeting that had been violating for three years. From June 10th to 12th, the first Shangri-La offline dialogue (referred to as "Fragrance Meeting") was held during the epidemic. China attended the mee

This weekend, the People's Liberation Army delegation started a 48-hour incense meeting that had been violated for three years.

From June 10th to 12th, the first Shangri-La offline dialogue (referred to as "Fragrance Club") was held during the epidemic. China attended the meeting with high standards again. This year is their 14th attendance. Although it has been suspended for two years due to the epidemic, this conversation will be as hot as the temperature in the equatorial area.

In addition to State Councilor and Secretary of Defense Wei Fenghe, who attended the meeting for the second time, some new faces appeared at the meeting this year, including Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio , US Secretary of Defense Austin, etc. It is worth mentioning that in the past, dialogues were all offline interactions. This year, Ukrainian President Zelensky gave a speech in video format, breaking the convention of attending the meeting for the first time. During

, the People's Liberation Army delegation met with many defense ministers, asked questions from the Japanese Prime Minister, answered 11 questions in 20 minutes, and fought back against accusations and smears. It confronted many countries in just two days.

The day after the meeting between China and the United States, the US side re-produced the old tune, and then "played the Taiwan card" and disrupted the situation on the South China Sea issue, making groundless accusations against China. The Chinese Defense Minister and the People's Lieutenant General have successively counterattacked, clarifying their positions on many occasions, pointing to the US to build a "small circle" and making a statement that will "did not hesitate to fight."

In recent years, the People's Liberation Army has attended the incense meeting at a high level, obviously coming with the desire to increase trust and relieve doubts. In the view of Zhao Xiaozhuo, a member of the People's Liberation Army delegation and a researcher in the scientific research department of the Academy of Military Sciences, "Although it is a platform dominated by the United States and the West, we must be good at 'borrowing the stage to perform', use other people's platforms well, and make our own voices." More than Chinese and foreign scholars told reporters from Nandu that Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe made a decent statement on China's position, analyzed the situation of neighboring countries accurately and accurately. He was out of script in answering questions, had strong logic and clear thinking, and "performed brilliantly in international occasions."

State Councilor and Minister of Defense Wei Fenghe spoke at the 19th Shangri-La Dialogue.

Japan took advantage of the situation regarding the Ukrainian crisis. The People's Lieutenant General threw away the problem on the spot to the Japanese Prime Minister

As the first large-scale offline dialogue since the COVID-19 epidemic, the People's Liberation Army delegation was ready for protection before attending the meeting. At Shangri-La Hotel , a group of soldiers wearing green military uniforms came towards me, wearing white masks with five-star red flag logos, which made people recognize at a glance that this was "the People's Liberation Army delegation is here."

Zhao Xiaozhuo, who attended the meeting for 9 consecutive times, just as he stayed in the hotel, he found that it was a little deserted compared to the previous traffic. It was not until delegations from various countries arrived that the noise of the past was restored, "The familiar feeling is back."

Shangri-La Dialogue mainly focused on Asia-Pacific security. According to the organizers, delegations from more than 40 countries attended the meeting this year, with a total of 575 representatives. Among them, 80 people attended the meeting in the United States alone, including officials, scholars and heads of defense companies. It is worth noting that there has been a significant increase in European participating countries this year. In the past, European countries were mainly "regular visitors" such as Britain, France, and Germany. Zhao Xiaozhuo observed that this year, Czech , Lithuanian , Switzerland , Sweden and other countries also came. "I feel that the 'Siang Club' is expanding towards Europe."

According to convention, every year, the sang Club invites a head of state or government of the region to deliver an opening dinner speech. This year, the organizer invites Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. This is also the Japanese Prime Minister who attended the incense meeting after 8 years since Japan attended the meeting in 2014.

htmlOn the evening of 10, Fumio Kishida delivered a 36-minute speech. Although he did not directly name China, he mentioned the challenges of the South China Sea and the East China Sea , and criticized the phenomenon of "not complying with international law and trying to change the status quo with unilateral force."

Zhao Xiaozhuo analyzed this, "Kishida Fumio has been a foreign minister. His speech does not seem so radical, but in fact it is still relatively directed towards China."

Kishida Fumio's speech began with the current Ukrainian crisis, but the topic changed and pointed to several security hotspots in East Asia.It proposed that Japan should play a greater role in regional security affairs and fundamentally enhance Japan's defense capabilities, saying that "we must prepare for an entity that does not abide by the rules and threatens to trample on peace and security in other countries by force or force", and proposed five "Kishida Peace Visions".

Regarding Kishida's speech that linked Ukraine and East Asia from the beginning, Zhao Xiaozhuo believes that although he did not mention the word "China", the mention of the South China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, and the East China Sea is actually a "target", which obviously implies China. Fumio Kishida took advantage of the topic in his speech, saying, "Today's Ukraine may be tomorrow's East Asia", which is full of innuendo and has ulterior motives. It was repeatedly quoted in the meeting in the next two days.

member of the People's Liberation Army delegation and deputy director of the National Security Strategy Teaching and Research Department of the National Security School of the National Security University believes that the so-called new era diplomacy and security peace concept advocated by Kishida is arbitrarily insinuating and unreasonable accusations against China on international occasions, indicating that Japan has chosen to "lie down" in its diplomatic and security policies, lost independent thinking, and is willing to be the "mouth cylinder" and "agent" of the United States, and has completely become a "accomplice" of the United States' Indo-Pacific Strategy and the containment of China and the control of China.

During the dialogue, Kishida also publicly stated that Japan will increase its defense spending and increase its military strength. At the same time, Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi also exaggerated the "China threat" on occasions such as speeches and bilateral meetings, and deliberately hyped that China-Russia joint air cruise threatened the security and stability of East Asia, which was a "demonstration against Japan."

"Japan's naked speech can be called a declaration of Japan's 'remilitarization'." Zhang Chi said bluntly that it is Japan that has frequently held various military exercises in recent years and has attracted large-scale joint exercises from outside the region, such as the United States, Britain and Australia. "The meaning of pretending to be powerful is self-evident."

Wang Jiangyu, professor of the School of Law of City University of Hong Kong and director of the China Law and Comparative Law Research Center, pointed out that Japan is moving towards a military power. If they do this, they will definitely arouse the vigilance of some neighboring countries, such as China, South Korea, North Korea, etc.

At this year's opening dinner, Lieutenant General He Lei, a member of the People's Liberation Army delegation and former vice president of the Academy of Military Sciences, was given another opportunity to ask questions. He asked Fumio Kishida about the idea of ​​Sino-Japanese relations.

Nandu reporter learned that this is not the first time He Leixiang will ask a question. In 2019, He Lei, who attended the conference as an expert member for the first time, raised two questions at the opening dinner on how small countries can avoid "selecting side stations" to Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong .

This year is He Lei's fourth incense meeting. In the past, he has attended the meeting twice as a leader and twice as an expert. Regarding the question of what are the tips for getting the opportunity to ask questions for two consecutive years, He Lei shared a small episode with reporters from Nandu. He said that before the opening dinner, he encountered Chipman (currently the director of , the London Institute of International Strategic Research) at the hotel. Since all participants wore masks this year, they were not recognized at the beginning. "The reporter who was in the same industry at that time reminded me that this was not Chipman? I turned around and greeted him, and then raised my hand in body language to tell him that I would raise my hand to ask questions. He nodded and said yes."

During the dinner questioning session, He Lei, wearing a PLA uniform and a national flag mask, was more conspicuous in the crowd. In the venue, Chipman also named He Lei as an appointment. Since this year marks the 350th anniversary of the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations, He Lei raised his own questions to Kishida on Sino-Japanese relations. "China-Japan relations are a major event. As a member of the Chinese delegation, I cannot ignore this question."

Are you satisfied with Fumio Kishida's answer? He Lei believes that his answer is a prepared answer, but the answer is not comprehensive and very general. "My question was to understand his overall vision of China-Japan relations or the goals he wanted to achieve, but he did not have a systematic answer."

He Lei emphasized that China-Japan relations are now a very critical time. China and Japan are close neighbors across the sea in the Asia-Pacific region, and are the second and third largest economies in the world. They are both very important major countries in the world. Everyone is very concerned about Sino-Japanese relations. Japan is now breaking through the restrictions on defeated countries after World War II , and there are signs of militarism. "This is also something we are worried about."

State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe spoke at the 19th Shangri-La Dialogue.

Sino-US Defense Ministers Meeting the next day. The United States publicly accused China. experts criticized it for the most explicit and widest range of previous sessions.

It is worth noting that after Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe arrived in Singapore, he shook hands with US Defense Secretary Austin in Singapore before the opening dinner. This is also the first face-to-face meeting between China and the United States Defense Ministers since the Biden administration came to power.

During this talk, during the talks, the defense ministers of the two countries exchanged views on issues such as China-US relations, Taiwan, the South China Sea, Ukraine, etc. The talks between the two countries lasted more than an hour, which was 30 minutes longer than the scheduled time.

Chinese Ministry of National Defense spokesman Wu Qian introduced at a media briefing after the meeting that this was a frank, positive and constructive strategic communication. Both sides believed that the two militaries should earnestly implement the important consensus of the two heads of state, maintain regular communication, and control risk crisis. "Overall, the talks were not long, but the effect was good. "

U.S. Defense Secretary Austin delivered a speech at the 19th Shangri-La Dialogue.

In his speech at the conference on the morning of the second day, Austin completely ignored the meeting and exchanges of the previous day and staged a "firepower" drama. Not only did he continue to play the "Taiwan card" and disrupt the South China Sea issue, but he also mentioned the East China Sea issue and the Sino-Indian border issue. In his speech, Austin also accused China of being "increasingly aggressive" in Asia and emphasized that the "rules-based" international order is Europe and the Indo-Pacific are equally important. The United States will continue to strengthen Indo-Pacific security and seek the Indo-Pacific region that "no aggression and bullying".

Starting from 2017, then-US Secretary of Defense Mattis mentioned the Taiwan issue for the first time at the Inn. Since then, the Taiwan issue must be mentioned in the speech of the US Secretary of Defense. It is worth noting that at this Inn, Austin systematically elaborated on the "one-China policy" of the United States. While emphasizing that it does not support "Taiwan independence", it also expressed its intention to help Taiwan develop its "defensive capabilities".

Regarding Austin's false accusations against China, Lieutenant General Zhang Zhenzhong, deputy chief of staff of the Joint Staff of the Central Military Commission, soon held a media briefing to clarify China's position one by one, and expressed opposition and dissatisfaction. In response to the Taiwan issue, Zhang Zhenzhong reiterated that Taiwan issue is China's internal affairs, One China principle is the political foundation of Sino-US relations, and previous US governments have made clear commitments to this, and President Biden also expressed his dissatisfaction, but the US side clearly disagrees with words and deeds. In the continuous play of the "Taiwan card", it has seriously vained the one-China policy.

How do you view the US criticizing China again after the meeting between the two sides? Zhao Xiaozhuo believes that Austin's speech at the conference can better reflect the true intentions of the United States, because this is a multilateral forum that American allies have intensively participated in, and the media has reported extensively that Austin should systematically elaborate on the strategic concept and position and viewpoint of the United States, tell it to allies, and tell it to the international community.

For the meeting between China and the United States, "although the conversation is short, there are still certain results. "Zhao Xiaozhuo pointed out that the results mainly include two aspects: First, explain their respective policy bottom lines on issues such as Taiwan, which will help prevent misreading and misjudgment; second, there is also a consensus, namely, strengthening communication and exchanges between the two militaries, especially in crisis control. "Of course, it is unrealistic to resolve differences between the two countries to a large extent by just one meeting. "

In He Lei's view, "Austin's speech this time is like a poisonous arrow. This is the most explicit, sharp and wide-ranging time when the US Secretary of Defense attacked China and accused China of the most explicit, sharp and wide-ranging situation. "

Ukrainian President's video link breaks the convention of incense meetings, and the People's Liberation Army refuted the rumor "Leaving the stage in the middle "

Unlike in the past, this meeting is the first large-scale security summit after the current Ukrainian crisis. In addition to the focus issues such as China-US relations and Taiwan issues, delegations of various countries' views on the Ukrainian crisis have also become a major highlight.

Ukrainian President Zelensky delivered a speech at the incense meeting in June 11 through video on June 11.

On the day before the incense meeting, the organizer temporarily declared that Ukrainian President Zelensky will give a speech at the meeting in video on June 11.According to Russian media reports, after the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis, the organizer canceled the invitation to Russia to attend the meeting.

On the same day, Ukrainian President Zelensky attended the 19th Shangri-La Dialogue remotely. He wore a T-shirt specially designed by a Singaporean girl to support Ukraine and delivered a special speech at a secret location in Kiev . Zelensky said the Ukrainian crisis is a lesson for the whole world, and we must have some preventive measures to stop violence and war, because no one will benefit from it, and war cannot bring any benefits.

It is worth mentioning that Chipman, director of the London Institute of International Strategics, specifically mentioned when presiding over the introduction of Zelensky that Xianghui has always been offline interactions, and this time Zelensky participated in the online meeting was a breaking convention.

Zhao Xiaozhuo listened to Zelensky's speech and Q&A session throughout the scene, thinking that this was a special arrangement by the organizer. "The Xianghui focuses on the security of the Asia-Pacific region. Now we connect the leaders of a European country to talk about the Ukrainian crisis and talk about the security of Europe, which is a bit unusual."

According to media reports, some people from Britain and the United States posted rumors after the meeting that "the People's Liberation Army delegation left the seat during the speech of the Ukrainian president." In response, Zhang Yingli, former professor at the School of International Defense at the National Defense University, publicly denied the rumors that he was at the meeting site at that time and did not leave the venue until the meeting ended.

Former U.S. Department of Defense official and currently engaged in academic research in Singapore, Tang Anzhu also posted a message saying that when Zelensky spoke, he left the Vietnam delegation, and his neighbor was a colonel of the People's Liberation Army delegation.

The next day, in response to the Ukrainian crisis, Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe responded with four questions in his speech, saying that what is the fundamental cause of the Ukrainian crisis and who is the instigator and promoter behind it? Who has the biggest losses and who has the most profits? Who is persuading peace and who is urging fire? Everyone knows it. "Relevant countries should reflect on themselves."

Wei Fenghe reiterated his position and expressed that China is committed to persuading peace and promoting talks. "'The person who tied the bell must be untied'. We support the dialogue and negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, and we also hope that the United States and NATO will have a dialogue with Russia to accumulate conditions for an early ceasefire and stop war."

On June 12, Defense Minister Wei Fenghe delivered a speech on the theme of "China's Vision for Regional Order".

out of the paper responded to 11 5 questions, Wei Feng and won applause and were evaluated for confidence and calmness

As one of the largest and highest-standard multilateral meetings in the security dialogue mechanism in the Asia-Pacific region, Shangri-La Dialogue, also known as Asian Security Summit , was initiated by the British Institute of International Strategic Studies and held with the support of the Singapore government. Since its inception in 2002, China has attended the meeting 14 consecutive times.

was cancelled for two consecutive years in 2020 and 2021 due to the impact of the new crown epidemic, and was resumed this year, providing a platform for diplomatic and military exchanges between delegations of various countries. This time, China once again sent high-standard officials to attend the meeting, reflecting China's emphasis on this platform. This is also the second time that Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe has led a delegation to attend the dialogue since 2019.

On June 12, Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe delivered a speech with the theme of "China's Vision for Regional Order", reiterating China's position on the Taiwan issue, the South China Sea issue, the Ukrainian crisis and Sino-US relations issues. As soon as he opened the show, the purpose of the People's Liberation Army delegation to Singapore was to "come for friendship, cooperation, development, and maintain regional peace and stability."

In his speech, he publicly refuted the speech of the US Congress on the 11th, expressing his firm opposition to the US's remarks that smear, accused and even threatened China. Regarding the "Indo-Pacific Strategy" advocated by the US during the Incense Conference, Wei Fenghe also directly exposed the lies on the spot, saying that the "Indo-Pacific Strategy" was to form "small circles" under the banner of freedom and openness, kidnap regional countries and target specific countries, exaggerate conflict, confrontation, suppress, curb, and encircle others.

He Lei personally experienced the entire incense meeting on the spot. He found that after Wei Fenghe's speech, applause rang out in the venue for a long time and the atmosphere was very warm, which was in sharp contrast to the only polite and sparse applause sounded after Austin's speech the day before.

He Lei commented after meeting that Wei Fenghe resolutely fought back against the accusations and smears of the United States and the West, and fought against tit-for-tat. In addition, Wei Fenghe also explained the doubts of some neighboring countries. "It reflects stability, calmness and confidence, and the effect is very good." After the

speech, within 20 minutes, Wei Fenghe interacted and answered 11 questions on the spot, including the Taiwan issue, the Ukrainian crisis, the nuclear weapon installation, etc. After the first round of Q&A, the host said that more than 40 listeners had to ask questions on the spot, but due to limited time, only five or six listeners could be selected, and the answer time was extended by 3 minutes.

"Even if some questions are quite challenging, Minister Wei still answered all questions frankly. Through the applause on the spot, the audience's recognition of his speech was fully demonstrated." He Lei said.

More than Chinese and foreign scholars told reporters from Nandu that Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe had a proper argument on China's position, and had accurate analysis of the situation of neighboring countries. He was out of script in answering questions, had strong logic and clear thinking, "performed brilliantly in international occasions."

Wang Jiangyu commented on the performance of the People's Liberation Army this year. China sent Chinese Defense Ministers to attend the speech for two consecutive times, which was a huge progress in itself. China uses this platform to conduct military diplomacy, holds world-renowned exchanges with the US Defense Secretary, and reveals its own views in a straightforward manner. "It is good to have different views on the other party's views at any time to convene media to publicly refute it."

This year is the second time that Zhang Chi, a member of the People's Liberation Army delegation, attended the incense meeting. The last time he participated was in 2018. Here, he and his team members can show the international community China's image of peaceful development, openness and inclusiveness, reduce misunderstandings and misjudgments, and clearly convey China's position.

In He Lei's view, the PLA delegation's participation in the incense meeting for 14 consecutive years is mainly divided into three stages: the first stage is tentative and investigational participation, the second stage is active and peaceful participation, and the third stage is participation according to specifications.

He Lei also expressed his views on China's right to speak, "If we don't occupy the public opinion position, they will occupy it; if we are absent, they will scold us; if we come less, the voice will be weak, and they will not hear our voice."

In He Lei's view, guns and gunfire are wars; fighting wits and courage in diplomatic occasions is a war without gunpowder; verbal wars in the public opinion field are also battlefields, and we must win, and we must make friends.

As a younger generation of Chinese soldiers, Zhang Chi admitted that China's international voice is currently in an upward process. In the future, the younger generation should inherit the good traditions of military diplomacy, and at the same time, they should constantly innovate and keep pace with the times according to changes in the times and environment.

Interview and writing: Nandu reporter Pan Shanju Song Lingyan Intern Wang Wei Sent from Beijing