Mystery of top secret meeting on the sidelines of Shangri-La Dialogue

Reuters on June 4 quoted five sources as saying that the above meetings were secretly organized by the Singapore government at a separate location on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in recent years.

The US representative attending was Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines. The Chinese representative and head of India's Overseas Intelligence Aggregation Agency Samant Goel also attended.

Intelligence chiefs held an informal meeting on the evening of June 1 without any Russian representatives, Reuters reported, citing sources. These meetings are meant to foster understanding of intentions and key points.

At the 20th Shangri-La Dialogue this year, more than 600 delegates from 49 countries attended plenary sessions over three days. Photo: AP

Attendees at the Shangri-La Dialogue, which includes senior officials from intelligence agencies, will also have the opportunity to meet their counterparts, a Singapore Ministry of Defence spokesman said, adding that the Singapore Ministry of Defence may facilitate some of those bilateral or multilateral meetings.

The US Embassy in Singapore said it had no information about the “confidential meeting” reported by Reuters . The Chinese and Indian governments did not comment on the information.

Currently, the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand operate the "Five Eyes" network to collect and share a wide range of intelligence. Intelligence officials from the five countries have met regularly in the past.

Meanwhile, larger intelligence community meetings are rarely held and almost never made public.

At the 20th Shangri-La Dialogue this year, more than 600 delegates from 49 countries attended plenary sessions over three days - from June 2 to 4 - as well as closed bilateral and multilateral meetings at the Shangri-La Hotel. Two of the topics discussed were the conflict in Ukraine and transnational crime.

Pham Nghia

Source: https://nld.com.vn/thoi-su-quoc-te/bi-an-cuoc-hop-toi-mat-ben-le-doi-thoai-shangri-la-20230604153651412.htm