Shangri-La Dialogue 2014: Links, Full Text of Speeches, and Q&A
Click here to read current and previous Shangri-La Dialogue proceedings directly, complete with the latest updates!
Here is the overall IISS Asia Security Summit 2014 website.
Here are the speeches, organized by plenary section.
Additional links:
I tried to select key quotations from the text, but the amount of relevant content quickly became overwhelming. Here’s an initial effort…
Opening Remarks: Dr John Chipman
Welcome to the 13th IISS Asia Security Summit: the Shangri-La Dialogue. This is the largest gathering of government officials and top experts on the Asia-Pacific we have ever brought together. It promises to be a stimulating and I trust a productive weekend.
We re-convene in a year characterised by the ‘return of geo-politics’ to the centre stage of international relations and global debate about power today. …
…given the way all these types of power mix in today’s world, things can change very quickly. In these circumstances, our century has a neo-Darwinian flavour: it is not so much ‘survival of the fittest’, as ‘power to the most agile’. … To the phrases ‘hard’ power, ‘soft’ power and ‘smart’ power, so often used today, could be added ‘fast’ power: the ability to shape events at speed effectively, a skill all governments and businesses have to deploy effectively. …
Keynote Address: Shinzo Abe
… Japan for the rule of law. Asia for the rule of law. And the rule of law for all of us. Peace and prosperity in Asia, forevermore. That’s what I wish to state to you today. …
Now, my first central point for today, that is that we must observe international law. International law prescribes the order governing the seas. Its history is long indeed, stretching back to the days of ancient Greece…. By Roman times, the seas were already kept open to all, with personal possession and partitioning of the sea prohibited. …
The principle of freedom on the high seas came to be established, and the seas became the foundation for human prosperity. …
This law was not created by any particular country or countries, nor was it the product of some sort of group. Instead, it is the product of our own wisdom, cultivated over a great many years for the well-being and the prosperity of all humankind. …
All of us should find one common benefit in keeping our oceans and skies as global commons, where the rule of law is respected throughout, to the merit of the world and humankind.
The rule of law at sea: Three principles …
- The first principle is that states shall make and clarify their claims based on international law.
- The second is that states shall not use force or coercion in trying to drive their claims.
- The third principle is that states shall seek to settle disputes by peaceful means.
Preventing unexpected situations
What the world eagerly awaits is for our seas and our skies to be places governed by rules, laws, and established dispute resolution procedures.
The least desirable state of affairs is having to fear that coercion and threats will take the place of rules and laws and that unexpected situations will arise at arbitrary times and places. …
Japan and China have an agreement concluded in 2007 between then-Premier Wen Jiabao and myself, when I was serving as Prime Minister. That was a commitment we made to create a maritime and air communication mechanism in order to prevent unexpected situations between Japan and China.
Unfortunately, this has not led to the actual operation of such a mechanism. We do not welcome dangerous encounters by fighter aircraft and vessels at sea. What we must exchange are words. …
Support for ASEAN
… We have decided to provide ten new patrol vessels to the Philippine Coast Guard. We have already provided three brand-new patrol vessels to Indonesia through grant aid cooperation. And we are moving forward with the necessary survey to enable us to provide such vessels to Vietnam as well.
No less important, when hard assets are sent out from Japan, experts also follow, together with instruction in the relevant technical skills. …
The United States’ Contribution to Regional Stability: Chuck Hagel
… Today, I return on my fifth trip to the region as Secretary of Defense in about a year, again reaffirming that America’s commitment to the Asia-Pacific is enduring. …
The rebalance is not a goal, not a promise, or a vision – it’s a reality. Over the last year, President Obama launched comprehensive partnerships with Vietnam and Malaysia, held a summit with Chinese President Xi, and last month visited three of our five regional treaty allies – Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines – as well as Malaysia. In the Philippines, he and President Aquino announced a new Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement on the rotational presence of U.S. forces – the most significant milestone for our alliance in over a decade.
Under President Obama’s leadership, the administration is also making progress in negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. Our State Department is increasing foreign assistance funding to the Asia-Pacific region and expanding assistance for maritime capacity-building in Southeast Asia.
Diplomatic, economic, and development initiatives are central to the rebalance, and to our commitment to help build and ensure a stable and prosperous region. But prosperity is inseparable from security, and the Department of Defense will continue to play a critical role in the rebalance – even as we navigate a challenging fiscal landscape at home. …
Today, I want to highlight four broad security priorities that the United States, as a Pacific power, is advancing in partnership with friends and allies throughout the Asia-Pacific:
- First, encouraging the peaceful resolution of disputes; upholding principles including the freedom of navigation; and standing firm against coercion, intimidation, and aggression;
- Second, building a cooperative regional architecture based on international rules and norms;
- Third, enhancing the capabilities of our allies and partners to provide security for themselves and the region; and,
- Fourth, strengthening our own regional defense capabilities.
One of the most critical tests facing the region is whether nations will choose to resolve disputes through diplomacy and well-established international rules and norms…or through intimidation and coercion. Nowhere is this more evident than in the South China Sea, the beating heart of the Asia-Pacific and a crossroads for the global economy.
China has called the South China Sea “a sea of peace, friendship, and cooperation.” And that’s what it should be.
But in recent months, China has undertaken destabilizing, unilateral actions asserting its claims in the South China Sea. It has restricted access to Scarborough Reef, put pressure on the long-standing Philippine presence at the Second Thomas Shoal, begun land reclamation activities at multiple locations, and moved an oil rig into disputed waters near the Paracel Islands.
The United States has been clear and consistent. We take no position on competing territorial claims. But we firmly oppose any nation’s use of intimidation, coercion, or the threat of force to assert those claims.
We also oppose any effort – by any nation – to restrict overflight or freedom of navigation – whether from military or civilian vessels, from countries big or small. The United States will not look the other way when fundamental principles of the international order are being challenged.
We will uphold those principles. We made clear last November that the U.S. military would not abide by China’s unilateral declaration of an Air Defense Identification Zone in the East China Sea, including over the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands. And as President Obama clearly stated in Japan last month, the Senkaku Islands are under the mutual defense treaty with Japan.
All nations of the region, including China, have a choice: to unite, and recommit to a stable regional order, or to walk away from that commitment and risk the peace and security that have benefitted millions of people throughout the Asia-Pacific, and billions around the world.
The United States will support efforts by any nation to lower tensions and peacefully resolve disputes in accordance with international law. …
The Asia-Pacific’s shifting security landscape makes America’s partnerships and alliances indispensable as anchors for regional stability. As we work to build a cooperative regional architecture, we are also modernizing our alliances, helping allies and partners develop new and advanced capabilities, and encouraging them to work more closely together.
In Southeast Asia, that means continuing to help nations build their humanitarian and disaster relief capabilities, and upgrade their militaries. One important example is our first-ever sale of Apache helicopters to Indonesia, which I announced during my visit to Jakarta last year. This sale will help the Indonesian Army defend its borders, conduct counter-piracy operations, and control the free flow of shipping through the Straits of Malacca. We are also providing robust assistance to the Philippines’ armed forces, to strengthen their maritime and aviation capabilities.
In Northeast Asia, our capacity-building efforts include strengthening Allies’ capabilities with sophisticated aircraft and ballistic missile defense – especially to deter and defend against provocation by Pyongyang.
Two months ago, we signed an agreement with the Republic of Korea. We signed that agreement for its purchase of Global Hawk, which will dramatically enhance its intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities. South Korea also intends to acquire the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter – which means that America and its most capable allies in this region, including Australia and Japan, will soon be operating the world’s most advanced, fifth-generation tactical aircraft.
We are also making significant progress in building a robust regional missile defense system. Last month in Tokyo, I announced that the United States will deploy two additional ballistic missile defense ships to Japan – a step that builds on the construction of a second missile defense radar site in Japan, and the expansion of America’s ground-based interceptors in the continental United States, which I reviewed this week in Alaska during my trip to Singapore.
Modernizing our alliances also means strengthening the ties between America’s allies, enhancing their joint capabilities – such as missile defense – and encouraging them to become security providers themselves. Yesterday, I held a trilateral meeting with my counterparts from Australia and Japan, and today I will host another trilateral meeting with my counterparts from Korea and Japan.
The enhanced cooperation America is pursuing with these close allies comes at a time when each of them is choosing to expand their roles in providing security around the Asia-Pacific region, including in Southeast Asia. Seven decades after World War II, the United States welcomes this development. We support South Korea’s more active participation in maritime security, peacekeeping, and stabilization operations. We also support Japan’s new efforts – as Prime Minister Abe described very well last night – to reorient its Collective Self Defense posture toward actively helping build a peaceful and resilient regional order. …
The United States looks forward to working with India’s new government led by Prime Minister Modi. We welcome India’s increasingly active role in Asia’s regional institutions, which strengthens regional order. We also welcome India’s growing defense capabilities and its commitment to freedom of navigation in the Indian Ocean. To further strengthen U.S.-India defense ties, I am directing the Pentagon’s Undersecretary for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics to lead the U.S.-India Defense Trade and Technology Initiative with India’s new government. I plan to play an active and very personal role in expanding this initiative because it is a centerpiece of America’s defense cooperation with India, and it should reflect the trust and confidence President Obama and I have in our nation’s relationship with India. To reinforce this effort – and to drive even more transformational cooperation – I hope to visit India later this year. …
I want to repeat: today, America has more peacetime military engagement in the Asia-Pacific than ever before. And America’s strong military presence – and our role in underwriting the region’s security – will endure. Our friends and allies can judge us on nearly seven decades of commitment and history of commitment. That history makes clear, America keeps its word. …
Next year, the Navy will introduce the Joint High Speed Vessel in the Pacific and an additional submarine forward-stationed in Guam. As many as four Littoral Combat Ships will be deployed here by 2017. By 2018, the Navy’s advanced, multi-mission Zumwalt-class destroyer will begin operating out of the Pacific. And by 2020, as we achieve our target of operating 60% of both our Navy and Air Force fleets out of the Pacific, we will also be flying the Hawkeye early warning and unmanned Triton ISR aircraft in the region.
Because U.S. force posture in Asia is a priority for DoD, I am directing our Deputy Secretary of Defense to oversee the implementation of our ongoing enhancements to America’s military presence in this region, and with particular emphasis on our posture in Japan, Korea, and Guam. The Deputy Secretary will also continuously review the posture of our forces, to ensure they remain prepared for all necessary contingencies.
Finally, to ensure that the rebalance is fully implemented, both President Obama and I remain committed to ensuring that any reductions in U.S. defense spending do not come – do not come – at the expense of America’s commitments in the Asia-Pacific. …
Later this morning, I will meet with Vietnamese General Thanh. General Thanh joined the Vietnamese army in 1967, the same year I joined the United States Army and arrived in Vietnam. Today, General Thanh and I will meet as America’s Secretary of Defense and Vietnam’s Minister of Defense…working to strengthen our nations’ emerging defense ties. History is full of irony, which is why America must lead and will continue to lead with humility.
But America must lead, and our leadership must always reflect an enduring truth: As United States Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, and General George Marshall once said, “the strength of a nation does not depend alone on its armies, ships, and planes…[but] is also measured by…the strength of its friends and [its] allies.”
Today, perhaps more than ever, one of America’s greatest sources of strength is its network of partners and allies. As President Obama put it at his West Point speech, from Europe to Asia, America is “the hub of alliances unrivalled in … history of nations.”
Across this region, and across the globe, the United States has been – and always will be – committed to a peaceful and prosperous international order that rests not merely on America’s own might, but on our enduring unity and partnership with other nations.
Major General Yao Yunzhu, Director, Center for China-America Defense Relations and Research Fellow, Academy of Military Science, People’s Liberation Army
Thank you. Thank you, Secretary Hagel, for your very powerful and straightforward speech.
My question is do you consider that nationalisation of the Diaoyu Islands in 2014 a consolidation of status quo in East China Sea or a unilateral challenge of the status quo? And do you consider sovereignty is equal to administrative, administration, because your position, the US position, is to take no position of sovereignty, but your defence treaty covers the disputed Diaoyu Islands, because it is under the administration of Japan?
And when a US ally in the region comes into conflict or a clash over a disputed territory, the United States has repeatedly declared its defence commitment or declared, defined, clarified that the defence treaty covers the disputed matter. Do you think it is a sort of threat of force, coercion or intimidation?
I have a last question about ADIZ. There are some 20 countries in the world which have set up ADIZ. Most of them are US alliances and the ADIZ had been set up 60 years ago during the Cold War. What international law did the US apply to when they set up their ADIZ? What international organisation had the United States asked for permission or what country had the United States consulted to before they set up its ADIZ? So what international law has China violated in setting up an ADIZ in East China Sea? And why do you think that the US practice – and the practice of its alliance of ADIZ is the international norm that every country in the world should apply to?
Chuck Hagel, Secretary of Defense, United States of America
Well, let me see if I can address a couple of your points, General, thank you.
One on ADIZ. When the United States announced ADIZs, as other nations always do, they consult with neighbours. It is not unilateral. It is a relationship that they work through in order to come to an arrangement. Nations do have sovereign rights, according to international law – so that is the big difference, versus how China unilaterally announced what they were going to do.
Second, on your bigger point, I think. I thought I made America’s position clear in my remarks about the position we take on disputed territories. In fact, I think I repeated our position a number of times and I will do so again. One, these territorial disputes should be resolved through international law and international order. That is what our position is. As to treaty obligations, and responsibilities we have with Japan, the Philippines, Korea, three of the countries in this area that we have responsibilities to, we honour those. And in the case of the particular islands you mention, they have been and are administered by Japan. If there is to be a change in that, that should be done through international law; that should be done through international norms; not through intimidation or coercion. Thank you.
Dr Michael Fullilove, Executive Director, Lowy Institute for International Policy
Secretary Hagel, thank you for your very powerful statement of US interests in, and commitment to, Asia and let me say that was very welcome to hear that from an Australian perspective.
Can I ask you, why did President Obama not refer in greater detail to Asia in his remarks at West Point and when do you think the President might make the argument for the rebalance in the United States to an American audience?
Chuck Hagel, Secretary of Defense, United States of America
Well, let me remind you of a little recent history. The President laid out a couple of years ago a very thoughtful, very clear Defense Strategic Guidance that he gave to the Department of Defense and the Department of State and laid it out in a speech and it is a centrepiece of his foreign policy. And central to that Defense Strategic Guidance, which, by the way, was incorporated clearly, many, many pages worth, in our 2014 quadrennial defense review which we just finished, it was articulated very clearly by General Dempsey and me and all of our Chiefs of Staff and all our Secretaries and the legions of people that troop up to Capitol Hill and testify before the House and the Senate on our budgets, clearly articulated there. The President of the United States was just in this region a few weeks ago and visited four countries. Three of those countries are treaty partners.
I have been here now five times in 13 months saying the same thing, articulating the same thing. Secretary Kerry has been here a number of times. Admiral Locklear and his team are all over the Asia-Pacific focusing on the rebalance. My litany of moving assets and posture and what we have been doing the last couple of years, what we will continue to do, cuts right to your question. So I am not sure what further we can do to indicate that this, as I said in my remarks, is not a promise or it is not a vision, but it is a reality. This rebalance is happening, it has been happening, will continue to happen. So I hope that helps you a little bit. Thank you. …
Advancing Military-to-Military Cooperation: Itsunori Odonera
… It is unfortunate that there are security concerns in the East and South China Seas. Japan as well as all concerned parties must uphold the “rule of law” and never attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by force. Also, no country should ignore international rules and attempt to take dangerous action counter to military professionalism in both maritime navigation and over-flight in and above high seas. International norms and laws of freedom of navigation and over flight on the high seas are an important basis for the development of future military-to-military relations in this region. …
