DILI (TOP) - President of the Republic, Josรฉ Ramos-Horta expressed deep concern about the increasing level of proliferation danger in Asia-Pacific during his participation in the Asian Security Summit known as the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
The IISS Asia Security Summit: The Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) is the โTrack Oneโ intergovernmental security conference held annually in Singapore by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). The dialogue is usually attended by defense ministers, permanent heads of ministries and military chiefs of most Asia-Pacific states. The forum's name comes from the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, where it has been held since 2002.
The summit served to instill a sense of community among the most important politicians in the defense and security community in the region. Government delegations have made the most of the meeting by holding bilateral meetings with other delegations on the sidelines of the conference. While primarily an intergovernmental meeting, the summit was also attended by legislators, academic experts, distinguished journalists and business delegates.
Over the years, the Shangri-La Dialogue has become one of the most important independent forums for the exchange of views by decision-makers on international security policy. In addition to the host country, countries that have participated in the dialogue have included Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, Sweden Sweden, Switzerland, Timor-Leste, Thailand, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States.
On May 31 this year, President of the Republic, Josรฉ Ramos-Horta participated and delivered his speech at this important security meeting in Singapore. The Nobel Peace Laureate warned that weapons are spreading faster in Asia-Pacific countries, creating serious dangers for the region.
President Ramos-Horta explained that the Asia-Pacific has many countries with nuclear weapons and large armies that spend heavily on defense. President was worried about how fast missile technology is improving and spreading. Many countries are building better missiles that can fly at extremely high speeds and hit targets very far away. Some countries are even selling this dangerous technology to others.
The President said several things are making this problem worse. Countries in the region don't trust each other and compete for power. Important agreements that used to limit certain weapons have been cancelled, like the treaty that controlled medium-range nuclear missiles. Many countries in the region haven't signed important arms control treaties, and there aren't enough rules or ways to enforce the agreements that do exist.
President Ramos-Horta said Timor-Leste is watching these developments with growing concern. President called for countries to work together better on security talks and to have stricter controls on selling weapons technology. President also announced that Timor-Leste will officially join ASEAN in October, which is an important step for the country's progress toward lasting peace and democracy.
