Wallace spoke at the session titled “Building a Stable and Balanced Asia-Pacific” at the Shangri-La Dialogue, the most important security forum in the Asia-Pacific region, held in Singapore.
Stating that Britain’s total exports to the region reached 127 billion Euros last year, Wallace drew attention to the fact that the region offers a tremendous economic opportunity for everyone.
Underlining that China is an important actor for the region, Wallace underlined that problems such as global warming, food security and energy cannot be solved without interacting with China.
The British Defense Secretary said that China has caused problems such as illegal fishing and tensions in territorial waters.
Pointing out that military methods are not primarily preferred in maintaining balance and stability in the Indo-Pacific, Wallace expressed the importance of supporting international law and promoting common standards.
Expressing that Europe turned its attention to the Ukraine-Russia War, Wallace noted that the war caused the Euro-Atlantic security architecture to be reconsidered, and that more countries sought collective security with NATO membership.