THAI PM CALLS FOR MORE COOPERATION TO ENSURE GLOBAL SECURITY

In an increasingly interdependent world, where the security of all communities, countries and regions are interconnected, maintaining global security equilibrium has become a challenge. Thus it is crucial for countries to cooperate for the greater goal of global peace and security.

This was Thailand's Prime Minister (PM) Prayut Chan-o-Cha's central message in his keynote address to international delegates at the opening of the Shangri-La Dialogue on 3 Jun.

"We live in a globalised world without borders, because of advances in transport and communications technology that can connect us within seconds, and this can cause both crisis and bring opportunity. And these challenges that we face are increasingly transnational," said PM Prayut.

Observing that the international community was moving from a "one country, one destiny" mindset to one that was "one world, one destiny", he called for all countries to work together to ensure global security.

"We must find common ground (and) areas of collaboration, putting aside our differences as much as we can. Every country should make a paradigm shift from confrontation to collaboration, and leave no one behind. We must move from conflict to coherence and harmony, from common interest to shared values, and from a zero-sum attitude to a positive sum attitude."

This was PM Prayut's first time speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue, which marks its 15th instalment this year. Held from 3 to 5 Jun, the three-day security forum is organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and is a platform for defence ministers and senior officials to engage in conversations to build confidence, while fostering practical security cooperation.

Harking back to the first Shangri-La Dialogue in 2002, PM Prayut reminded all of the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew's speech, in which he predicted that more countries would play a greater role in the region, and that the spread of international terrorism would increase.

Said PM Prayut: "Mr Lee's observations regarding the regional security situation remain relevant today. The key players remain the same but the security situation has become more complicated, interconnected and challenging."

PM Prayut also outlined the topics that would be discussed over the next two days. These include tensions in the South and East China Seas, cooperative measures to tackle the regional threat of international terrorism, and enhancements to cyber security.

He concluded by saying, "I am confident that there is room for all of us in the Asia Pacific to cooperate, to engage in shared prosperity to share resources, and to overcome conflict."

On the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen met ministers and senior officials from the United States, Malaysia, New Zealand, China and Japan.

In addition to hosting US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter on a visit to the Singapore Armed Forces Imagery Support Group, Dr Ng also co-chaired the first Singapore-India Defence Ministers' Dialogue with India's Minister of Defence Manohar Parrikar, on 3 Jun.