SINGAPORE, June 01 – The 2024 Shangri-La Dialogue, traditionally a stage for U.S.-China strategic competition, revealed a significant new fissure this weekend: growing tension between the United States and its European allies over engagement in Asia. This shift was amplified by China’s notably reduced participation in the annual defense summit.
Beijing downgraded its presence, opting not to send its Defense Minister Dong Jun. Instead, a low-level delegation of military scholars represented China at the gathering of top defense officials, diplomats, and security experts. U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, Ely Ratner, highlighted this absence as creating a “vacuum” at the conference.
The void was filled by a stark divergence in transatlantic perspectives. Ratner explicitly urged European nations to prioritize defense investment in their own continent: “We would much prefer that the overwhelming balance of European investment be on that continent… so that as we partner there, which we will continue to do, we’re able to use our comparative advantage as an Indo-Pacific nation to support our partners here.” This stance reflects Washington’s desire for Europe to shoulder more of its own defense burden, freeing U.S. resources for the Indo-Pacific.
European leaders forcefully pushed back. Kaja Kallas, representing the EU, insisted on the interconnectedness of European and Asian security: “It is a good thing we are doing more (in Europe), but what I want to stress is that the security of Europe and the security of the Pacific is very much interlinked.” Kallas pointed to Chinese support for Russia’s war in Ukraine as a key example, stating, “If you are worried about China, you should be worried about Russia,” and noted reports of North Korean personnel deployed with Russian forces.
French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking separately, reinforced Europe’s independent role. Asserting France’s status as an Indo-Pacific power – citing territories like New Caledonia and French Polynesia and over 8,000 regional troops – Macron outlined a “third path”: “We are neither China nor the U.S., we don’t want to depend on either of them.” He advocated for a coalition between Europe and Asia avoiding a binary choice between Washington and Beijing.
Amidst these geopolitical currents, the presence of high-level Indian and Pakistani military delegations was conspicuous, coming just weeks after intense border clashes halted by a May 10 ceasefire. Led by India’s highest-ranking military officer and Pakistan’s chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, both delegations, adorned in full dress uniform, maintained a visible distance throughout the summit’s corridors and meeting halls.
