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This live blog has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing.
The Chinese capital is this week hosting the country’s most important annual defence conference, the Beijing Xiangshan Forum.
The three-day event follows a flurry of high-profile diplomatic activity in recent weeks, including the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin and the Victory Day military parade in Beijing.
More than 100 defence officials, including participants from the United States, Russia, the European Union and Southeast Asia, are expected to attend the event.
Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun has addressed the forum.
Reporting by Zhao Ziwen and Dewey Sim


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Taiwan

Dong Jun addresses Xiangshan Forum, as it happened – China a force for peace

Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun addresses the Beijing Xiangshan Forum on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

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China

Military

Dong gave a keynote address at the three-day event, which focuses attention on security in the Asia-Pacific


Dong gave a keynote address at the three-day event, which focuses attention on security in the Asia-Pacific.


South China Sea

US-China relations

Diplomacy

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Defence

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Nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs)

Dong Jun

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Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun has entered the opening ceremony venue and is preparing to deliver his address. Military officials, including foreign delegates, are slowly entering the conference hall. Foreign defence chiefs are expected to be seated beside Dong. Vietnamese defence chief Phan Van Giang will be on Dong’s left and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Tea Seiha will be on Dong’s right.


Dong Jun enters

Dong Jun, China’s defence minister, will soon speak at the opening of the forum, which has brought together hundreds of senior military personnel from around the world.
Amid an intensifying US-China rivalry, Dong did not attend Singapore’s Shangri-La Dialogue earlier this year. It was the first time since 2019 that Beijing did not send its defence minister to the annual security forum and a skipped opportunity to meet his American counterpart.
At home, a sweeping anti-corruption probe into China’s military is still under way. The campaign led to the removal of Li Shangfu as defence minister in 2023 and his expulsion from the Communist Party last year. And He Weidong, the second most senior uniformed military officer, has been absent from the public eye since March.



China’s defence minister to open forum

Yang Xuejun, chairman of the China Association for Military Sciences, presides over the opening ceremony of the Beijing Xiangshan Forum, describing the event as a “grand event of peace”. He notes the growing instability and uncertainty in the world, and says the forum will provide a platform for delegates to have open and inclusive dialogue.


‘Grand event of peace’

On Wednesday, General Zhang Youxia, vice-chair of the Central Military Commission and China’s top-ranking officer, met Singapore’s Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing, pledging to bolster maritime security, uphold core interests and inject stability into the region.
Zhang also assured Cuban defence chief Alvaro Lopez Miera of Beijing’s support on Havana’s core concerns and coordination against “hegemony and power politics”.
Separately, Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun welcomed counterparts from Malaysia, Cambodia, Myanmar, Namibia and Rwanda, promising deeper cooperation to address security risks and uphold the international order through dialogue and consensus.



China’s outreach

Dong Jun steps up to the stage to begin his speech. He mentions the Global Governance Initiative, a proposal put forward by President Xi Jinping at this month’s Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin. He says China will continue to make material contributions for jointly building a brighter future for human society. And the Chinese military will work with all countries to build a world of lasting peace.



Dong takes the stage

Dong warns that the world today is undergoing century-defining changes. “Our world is overshadowed by Cold War mentality, hegemonism and protectionism,” he says, in an apparent reference to the United States. He calls for countries to stand up against “bullying acts”.


Call to stand up against ‘bullying acts’

Dong notes that this year marks 80 years since China’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. This aligns with China’s growing emphasis on preserving the historical memory of the War of Resistance and reinforcing the UN’s image as a guardian of the international order. He says today marks the 918 Incident, which China considers the starting point of the Japanese invasion. He urges people to “never forget the lessons of history and never let such tragedies happen again”.


UN anniversary

The Chinese defence chief also says calls for peace, development and cooperation have grown louder, and that the Global South has grown stronger, calling the developing world an “unstoppable force”. He says the Global South is capable of “driving the wheels of historical progress forward”.


Global South an ‘unstoppable force’

“Today, the world is standing at another crossroad. Peace or war, dialogue or confrontation, win-win or zero-sum. We must make the just and right choice,” Dong says, echoing a similar remark made by President Xi Jinping during his speech at the Victory Day military parade in Beijing earlier this month.



‘Peace or war, dialogue or confrontation’

“External military intervention, the pursuit of spheres of influence, and taking sides will plunge the international community into chaos,” Dong says. The defence chief says the sovereign rights and interests of countries must be respected, and that nations must come together to defend the post-war order.



Warning of ‘chaos’

The Chinese military is willing to serve as a “force for peace, stability and progress” in the world, and to “contribute to building a more equitable and rational governance system,” Dong says. “Our world is in a new period of turbulence and transformation, with a growing deficit in global governance.” He says the PLA seeks to make joint contributions with other countries to build a “more equitable” global system.



‘Force for peace’

On the disputed South China Sea, the Chinese defence chief says: “We are willing to work with countries in the region to promote the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and strengthen consultations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.” In a reference to territorial disputes in the waterway, Dong says the freedom of navigation championed by “some other countries” challenges basic norms governing international relations. China will protect its sovereign rights, he says. “China upholds its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in accordance with the law, which is precisely a firm defence of the post-war order and international rule of law,” Dong says. He says China advocates for international affairs to be handled through consultation, emphasising that “we support global governance with the participation of all nations, building and sharing together”.


“The return of Taiwan to China is an integral part of the post-war order,” Dong says. “The historical and legal reality that Taiwan belongs to China is indisputable. The People’s Liberation Army has always been an invincible force in safeguarding national reunification,” he continues. “We will never allow any separatist plot for Taiwan independence to succeed, and we stand ready to thwart any external military interference at any time.”



Taiwan ‘integral’ to post-war order

Dong says military cooperation among countries can have a positive impact on cooperation on other areas and improve mutual trust. “The Chinese military is ready to join hands with all parties to support and defend common development and security, and to bring the benefits of global governance to everyone,” he says.


PLA ‘ready to join hands with all parties’

Dong says conflict and wars can be avoided only when military strategies are made to promote peace. “A military strategy based on strength, containment and deterrence is zero-sum by nature. It will only increase hostility and eventually backfire,” he says. “China stays committed to peaceful development ... We build our military to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests. In our opinion, exerting pressure, coercion or resorting to force should be avoided when interacting with other countries,” he says, calling for dialogue to bridge differences.



‘Committed to peaceful development’

Dong emphasises the defensive nature of China’s military, stating: “Our military development aims to safeguard our sovereignty, security and development interests”.
He calls for the resolution of international disputes to avoid conflict. And he says China advocates for international affairs to be handled through consultation, emphasising that “we support global governance with the participation of all nations, building and sharing together”.



China’s defensive military

Dong describes military alliances and political blocs – while not naming any – as “small exclusive groups that serve hegemonic and selfish interests”. “Internationally, countries in these blocs view others as either friends or foe. And internally, they carve up interests together. To maintain legitimacy, they need to create opponents,” he says. “We need to stay highly vigilant against these moves.”


Swipe at alliances and blocs

Dong proposes four recommendations to uphold world peace: first, continue deepening military mutual trust; second, strengthen multilateral cooperation; third, elevate the aspirations for cooperation; and fourth, improve cooperative mechanisms.
He says China will safeguard “global strategic channels and maritime security”, engage in cooperative exchanges such as escort missions and counterterrorism operations, and enhance joint exercises.



4 recommendations for peace

Ending his address, which lasted close to 30 minutes, Dong says the PLA will work with militaries around the world to “march forward towards the right direction and contribute more to the building of a community with a shared future for humanity and safeguarding world peace”.


Dong wraps up speech

The Xiangshan Forum and Dong Jun’s speech are set against the Chinese military’s dramatic modernisation programme which was undertaken when President Xi Jinping took power in 2013.
Tap to launch our special feature showing how the PLA’s weapon systems have changed and how they might be used in the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea and other geopolitical hotspots.




The Red Arsenal

Dong’s speech is followed by a plenary session on building a global security governance system. The session will see speeches by foreign officials including Vietnam’s Defence Minister Phan Van Giang and Anna Tsivileva, Russia’s deputy minister of defence. China’s assistant foreign minister Hong Lei kicks off the one-hour session by stressing the changes in the international landscape, saying that “hegemonic and bullying acts” have inflicted harm to multilateral frameworks such as the UN. “Now more than ever before, the world needs to reform and improve security governance,” he says. Vietnam’s Phan warns that disagreement among countries over their interests, if not handled properly, can lead to conflicts and threaten peace and stability. Vietnam, he says, supports multilateralism and opposes hegemony, unilateralism and the Cold War mentality.


Foreign officials address plenary session

That concludes our coverage of Dong Jun’s 30-minute keynote speech at the Beijing Xiangshan Forum. Dong addressed issues including Taiwan, the South China Sea and Beijing’s take on regional blocs formed by US allies.
Read our summary here.


Takeaways from Dong’s speech

Dong Jun addresses Xiangshan Forum, as it happened – China a force for peace

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Dong gave a keynote address at the three-day event, which focuses attention on security in the Asia-Pacific

Dong gave a keynote address at the three-day event, which focuses attention on security in the Asia-Pacific