Police officers stand guard near the entrance of the Shangri-La Hotel, the venue for the 20th International Institute for Strategic Studies Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's annual defense and security forum, in Singapore on June 2, 2023. Photo: VCG

Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun will attend Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore this week and outline China's global security concept, which experts said on Monday will reaffirm China's commitment to pursuing a path of peaceful development and its willingness to deepen international military cooperation despite Western accusations against China over the Taiwan question and South China Sea issue.

Upon invitation, Dong will attend the 21st IISS Shangri-La Dialogue and visit Singapore from Wednesday to June 3, China's Ministry of National Defense announced in a press release on Monday.

During the event, Dong will deliver a speech on China's global security concept and meet delegation leaders from related countries, the Chinese Defense Ministry said. 

Dong will also meet and hold talks with leaders of the Singapore's new administration and defense authority during his visit to Singapore, according to the press release.

During the Shangri-La Dialogue, China will have a good opportunity to express its standpoints and views, including China's commitment to pursue peace and stability, as well as explain the crux to the current tensions in the region - trouble-stirring by countries from outside the region, a Chinese military expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Monday.

A global security concept is vital for countries to deal with issues from a standpoint of safeguarding peace and stability despite contradictions, and a global security concept requires joint efforts by the international community, the expert said.

China has long been an active participant of the Shangri-La Dialogue, which it views as an important multilateral conference focused on military and security issues where it can expand its military diplomatic channels, the expert said.

While the Shangri-La Dialogue presents opportunities, it could also be a stage where Western countries use to launch malicious accusations against China, observers said.

According to the conference agenda, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr will deliver the keynote address on Friday to mark the opening of the Shangri-La Dialogue, then US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will deliver a speech on "United States' Strategic Partnerships in the Indo-Pacific" on Saturday.

The arrangement has established a tone for this year's defense forum - emphasizing the escalating tensions in the South China Sea, as Marcos Jr will expectedly be poised to leverage the platform to cast blame on China. If so, his keynote speech, amid the mounting row in the waters, will only add fuel to the fire, Ma Bo, an associate professor from the School of International Studies at Nanjing University, told the Global Times.

As a convention, Austin and some other speakers from the West are likely to hype the "China threat" theory at the Shangri-La Dialogue, which has long been a "home court" for Western countries, observers said, noting that the Chinese delegation will undoubtedly take a clear-cut stance to respond.

A fierce "crossfire" of stances on hot topics such as the Taiwan question and the South China Sea issue is inevitable, and China will tell the truth about the Taiwan Straits and the South China Sea to the international community and set the record straight, analysts said.

This year, the Chinese delegation continues to be a high-level team comprising experts from premier PLA institutions, including the Academy of Military Sciences of the PLA, the Global Times learned.

China will clearly state its standpoint and bottom line, and its efforts in safeguarding peace and stability, experts said.