US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis (2nd R) arrives at a military airport in Singapore on Thursday ahead of the annual Shangri-La Dialogue security summit. | Photo Credit: AFPmore-inChina has dispatched a low-level military delegation to an annual security conference in Singapore that has dwelled heavily in past on Chinese activities in the South China Sea. China has dispatched a low-level military delegation to an annual security conference in Singapore that has dwelled heavily on Chinese activities in the South China Sea. | Photo Credit: APAt last year’s meeting, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis sharply criticised what he called Beijing’s disregard for international law by its “indisputable militarization” of artificial islands in disputed areas of the South China Sea. The Singapore gathering also follows the Pentagon’s decision last week to withdraw its invitation for China to participate in a multinational naval exercise in what it called “an initial response” to China’s militarization of the South China Sea.

Source: The Hindu June 01, 2018 07:29 UTC