French President Emmanuel Macron to kick off Singapore security conference Shangri-La

World leaders gather in Singapore for security forum focusing on China, Russia, Taiwan, and global conflicts.

French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth are among the world leaders, diplomats and top defence officials in Singapore this weekend for a security forum that will focus on China's growing assertiveness, the global impact of Russia's war on Ukraine and the flare-up of conflicts in Asia.

Mr. Macron opens the conference with a keynote address on Friday (May 30, 2025) night that is expected to touch on all of those issues, as well as the pressure the hefty tariffs announced by President Donald Trump's administration is putting on Asian allies.

It's Mr. Hegseth's first time to the Shangri-La dialogue, hosted by the International Institute for Security Studies, which is taking place against the backdrop of heightened rhetoric between Beijing and Washington due to the Trump administration's threat of triple digit tariffs on China, and some uncertainty in the region over how committed the U.S. is to the defence of Taiwan, which also faces possible 32% American tariffs.

China claims the self-governing democracy as its own, and Chinese President Xi Jinping has not ruled out taking it by force. China sends military aircraft, ships and spy balloons near Taiwan as part of a campaign of daily harassment, and currently has an aircraft carrier in the waters southeast of the island.

Mr. Hegseth told reporters before he boarded his plane for Singapore that Washington's policies were meant to deter a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

“We seek no conflict with anybody, including the Communist Chinese,” he said. "We will stay strong for our interests. And that's a big part of what this trip is all about.” China, which usually sends its Defence Minister to the Shangri-La forum, appears to be sending a lower-level delegation this year but has not said why.

Mr. Hegseth's trip to Singapore is his second to the region since becoming Defence Secretary, following a March visit to the Philippines, which has seen escalating confrontations with China over competing territorial claims in the South China Sea.