The Shangri-La Dialogue security conference was taking place in Singapore this weekend when senior representatives from roughly two dozen of the world’s biggest intelligence agencies met in secret, according to five persons who spoke to Reuters.
They alleged that for several years, these meetings have been covertly held alongside the security summit at a different location, organized by the Singaporean government. There is no prior information about the meetings. China was one of the other nations present, despite the tensions between the two superpowers, and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, who is in charge of her nation’s intelligence community, was there to represent the U.S.
One Indian source reported that Samant Goel, the director of India’s Research and Analysis Wing, which is in charge of acquiring intelligence abroad, was also present.
One source with knowledge of the proceedings indicated that the meeting was a significant item on the global shadow agenda. Due to the diversity of the participating nations, it is not a festival of tradecraft but rather a way to promote a greater understanding of intentions and objectives.
It is a very essential component during times of tension, and the Singapore event helps encourage that, that there is an unspoken code among intelligence services that they may talk about when more official and open diplomacy is tougher.
Due to the sensitivity of the topic, all five of the sources who spoke about the meetings declined to give their names. According to a spokesperson for the Singapore Ministry of Defence, participants in the Shangri-La Dialogue, including top officials from intelligence agencies, take the chance to network with one another.
The official indicated that the Singapore Ministry of Defence might help arrange some of these bilateral or group encounters. The benefit of these out-of-the-way meetings has been acknowledged by the participants. There was no information on the meeting, according to the American Embassy in Singapore. Requests for comments were not promptly answered by the governments of China or India.
The Five Eyes network is run by the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and it is used to collect and share a variety of intelligence. Regular meetings are held between the Five Eyes’ intelligence officers. Rarer and hardly ever made public, larger gatherings of the intelligence community are held.
Transnational crime and Russia’s war in Ukraine came up in the talks on Friday, the individual with knowledge of the negotiations added, albeit there are few specifics on the discussions that took place in Singapore.
The directors of intelligence got together informally on Thursday night. One of the sources reported that there was nobody from Russia there. Volodymyr V. Havrylov, the Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine, claimed to have missed the intelligence meeting while at the Shangri-La Dialogue.
According to one of the sources, the conference was conducted cooperatively and collaboratively rather than in a hostile manner. More than 600 representatives from 49 nations participated in the main security dialogue, which took place at the sizable Shangri-La Hotel. Three days of plenary discussions were held, in addition to other bilateral and multilateral gatherings.
Anthony Albanese, the prime minister of Australia, delivered the opening remarks, along with counterparts from the United States, China, Japan, Canada, Britain, Indonesia, and South Korea. U.S. Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu also spoke. Haines participated in the Shangri-La Dialogue as a representative of the United States. She stated that international cooperation was crucial during a debate on cybersecurity in the main meeting in response to a query from a Chinese military official. She went on to say that you must keep attempting to resolve and collaborate on matters of mutual interest while simultaneously attempting to control the likelihood of an escalation. “Even when there is mistrust, even when you are effectively dealing with adversaries, you still try to manage the potential for escalation.”
According to American officials on Friday, CIA Director William Burns was to China last month to speak with Chinese colleagues. This travel came as the Biden administration aims to improve relations with Beijing.
