Teodoro to attend Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore from May 30 to June 1

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. is set to participate in the 22nd International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore from May 30 to June 1 to tackle security issues and defense ties with other nations.

“Secretary Teodoro, together with senior officials from the DND and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, is scheduled to hold bilateral and multilateral meetings with counterparts from various countries,” the Department of National Defense (DND) said in a statement on Thursday.

“The engagements aim to discuss regional and global security issues and strengthen defense and security cooperation with allies,” it added.

According to the DND, Teodoro’s attendance shows the Philippines' commitment to a rules-based international order as well as to a sustained peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region through open dialogue and strategic partnerships.

The IISS Shangri-La Dialogue will be attended by defense ministers, military chiefs, and strategic experts to discuss pressing security challenges and reinforce regional cooperation, the DND said.

At last year’s Shangri-La Dialogue, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. affirmed the Philippine sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea during his speech.

“We will never allow  anyone to detach it from the totality of the maritime domain that  renders our nation whole,” he said.

“As President, I have sworn to this solemn commitment from the very first day that I took office. I do not intend to yield. Filipinos do not yield,” he added.

Tensions continue as Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual shipborne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.

Parts of the South China Sea that fall within Philippine territory have been renamed by the government as West Philippine Sea to reinforce the country’s claim.

The West Philippine  Sea refers to the maritime areas on the western side of the Philippine archipelago including Luzon Sea and the waters around, within and adjacent to the Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo de Masinloc.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines over China's claims in the South China Sea, saying that it had "no legal basis."

China has refused to recognize the decision. —AOL, GMA Integrated News