Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth is the headline speaker at Asia's premier defense summit, which began on Friday with top Chinese officials notably absent despite weighty questions over Taiwan and the war in Iran.Beijing's defense minister is skipping the three-day Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore for the second year running, which analysts viewed as a sign of China's rising power.
The forum brings together top officials from around 45 nations and has historically provided a setting for debate as well as both quiet and high-profile diplomacy.
But the absence of China's Dong Jun means no meeting with Hegseth, even as Beijing tests American commitment to Taiwan and Washington seeks an end to the Middle East war.
Vietnamese leader To Lam called on countries to make such talks "truly effective instruments of risk reduction", adding in a keynote address on Friday evening that the Shangri-La Dialogue should not become a platform for merely "restating positions".
He urged "responsible commitment" from influential nations "both within and beyond the region", without mentioning the United States or China by name.
