The 21st International Institute for Strategic Studies Shangri-La Dialogue is an “excellent platform” for the Philippines to raise its national interest and positions on regional and international security challenges, Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. said on Thursday.

Teodoro touted President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s arrival in Singapore on 29 May for a two-day working visit in the country, where he will also deliver a keynote address during the dialogue on Friday.

“The President is expected to discuss before the 2024 Shangri-La Dialogue participants and audience, and the international community at large, the position of the Philippine government on various security, defense, and diplomatic challenges and concerns confronting the Philippines and the region,” Teodoro told defense reporters in a Viber message.

Teodoro said he is set to attend high-level plenary sessions of the SLD, which focuses on key defense and diplomacy issues in the region, as well as meet with defense ministers from participating countries.

“For my part, with the Shangri-La Dialogue considered as one of the most significant security and defense gatherings in Asia, I will reiterate and discuss further the President's policies and pronouncements on security and defense matters during my engagements with various senior government officials, policymakers, scholars, and Dialogue participants,” he said.

Teodoro said he will be meeting with his various counterparts and senior government officials on the sidelines of this year’s dialogue.

“We will be engaging in discussions of strategic concerns between our countries,” he added.

Other officials of the Department of National Defense are also slated to engage with their counterparts “to expound on key defense programs and projects.”

“Let me put forward that the International Institute for Strategic Studies Shangri-La Dialogue is a vital venue to discuss and debate divergent positions on numerous issues, critical challenges, and emerging concerns,” he said.

“Most important, however, we are all here to collectively manage, mitigate, and to reinvigorate the process of de-escalating regional and international tensions,” he added.

The SLD, which is an annual summit organized by the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) in Singapore, serves as a venue for defense and military leaders, diplomats, and security experts and practitioners worldwide “to gather and engage in discourse on the most pressing regional security issues.”

The DND regularly sends a delegation to the SLD, to share the Philippines' perspective on select topics and maximize the opportunity to interact with other attending officials from partner countries and international organizations.