Peering between the pot plants at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore
- The annual security forum is back after a two-year break
- The Chinese delegation is easy to spot in a crowd but just as elusive as ever
But behind high-profile pitches by China and the United States for competing visions for the Indo-Pacific were the dozens of bilateral conversations held behind closed doors and off-limits to journalists.
The secrecy over the whereabouts and itinerary of the Chinese delegation – numbering more than 50 active officers, academics, and retired diplomats and officials – kept journalists curious, as they tried to peer through gaps in doors to see which flags had been set up for the next round of talks.
Friday night at the Shangri-La Singapore hotel’s ballroom offered a rare sighting of defence analysts and researchers in the ranks of China’s People’s Liberation Army.
While military officers from 59 countries were dressed in either navy blue, khaki, green or white, the Chinese delegation stood out in their masks emblazoned with the national flag.
The bright red flag on the masks could be spotted from afar, even in the crowded ballroom where hundreds of guests mingled and dined after Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s opening speech calling for a free and open Indo-Pacific.