Chan Chun Sing hosts ministerial roundtable over lunch at 2025 Shangri-La Dialogue

Singapore's Minister for Defence and Coordinating Minister for Public Services, Chan Chun Sing, spoke to the press on the sidelines of the 2025 Shangri-La Dialogue on May 31.

Chan had kept a busy schedule during the event, having met many international leaders in different settings including at the customary ministerial roundtable over lunch.

During the lunch, Chan met with several of his counterparts, including nations such as United States, Japan, France, and the Netherlands, as well as the Vice President of the European Commission and former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.

The roundtable is a mainstay event for Singapore's defence minister during the SLD, and in recent years has been hosted by Ng Eng Hen.

This is the first roundtable hosted by Chan since being appointed defence minister on May 21, and he was joined by Senior Minister of State for Defence and Manpower Zaqy Mohamad.

Open and inclusive platform

Speaking to the media after the roundtable, Chan addressed questions about Singapore's role in a more complex world, especially in the context of the SLD.

Singapore will always be an "open and inclusive platform for people to come together and exchange notes" and to have frank conversations.

Chan reflected on the feedback he had received from delegates, especially his counterparts who had jokingly said "how hard they had to work" because of how many meetings they had to have in one day.

The 22nd edition of the SLD featured 14 ministers of defence speaking at the event, as well as various deputy ministers and chiefs of defence forces who also attended and delivered speeches.

They had their appreciation for the "opportunity to come together" with so many of their counterparts over a "very short, intense, three days".

Chan reflected that this was "one of the things that we can do".

Adding value

Another thing Singapore could continue to do is add value to its interactions with others.

Chan said added value came from many meetings with Singapore's partners, garnering a perspective that could be shared with other, different partners beyond "just passing messages", and it was this added value that attracted partnerships.

He said this was not Singapore attempting to conduct a "balancing act", as "Singapore is not trying to balance anyone", nor was Singapore attempting to be an interlocutor.

Instead, it presented an "open and inclusive platform", which allowed for "frank and honest conversation".

Asked to elaborate on the proceedings of the ministerial roundtable and of his counterpart's reactions to Pete Hegseth's presence, Chan said that the gathering was "appreciative" of Hegseth's candour.

This reflected the "spirit of the ministerial roundtable", in which participants were able to speak frankly and share their perspectives without judgment.

A safe environment to share what they felt, thought, and how they saw the world.

Ministerial Roundtable

The roundtable saw Chan meeting several of his counterparts, although most had called on him earlier in the week, and in the case of French Minister of Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu, they had met as part of French President Emmanuel Macron's state visit.

But aside from the opportunity for Chan's counterparts to meet Chan bilaterally, it presented a rarer opportunity for several of them to come together, as could be seen when Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and defence minister Richard Marles met with his New Zealand and Lithuanian equivalents, Judith Collins and Dovilė Šakalienė respectively.

And the three subsequently meeting Hegseth together.

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Top image via Mindef