Adm. Samuel J. Paparo, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, and Lt. Gen. George B. Rowell IV, deputy commander of USINDOPACOM, joined Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and his delegation to meet with senior military and government officials from allied and partner nations at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, May 29–31, according to a June 3 release from U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Public Affairs.
The annual summit, hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, brought together defense ministers, military chiefs, and security experts from more than 40 nations to address Indo-Pacific security challenges and hold high-level bilateral talks.
Rowell spoke on the panel “Enhancing Littoral Security in Asia,” where he outlined USINDOPACOM’s denial defense strategy along the first island chain. He said that allied partnerships, distributed posture, and AI-driven decision dominance are essential to deterring aggression and winning in the modern littoral environment.
During the event, Paparo and Rowell participated in more than 20 bilateral and multilateral engagements intended to underscore U.S. commitments to allies and partners while increasing mutual understanding of regional security challenges. The meetings also aimed to enhance cooperation across the Indo-Pacific region by confronting common threats and safeguarding shared interests.
USINDOPACOM leaders addressed future leaders during an engagement with the Young Leaders Program as part of efforts to advance people-to-people ties within the youth sector of the Indo-Pacific defense community.
Singapore continues as one of the United States’ strongest bilateral partners in Southeast Asia through mutual economic interests, robust defense cooperation, and deep people-to-people ties. USINDOPACOM stated its commitment to enhancing stability in the region by promoting security cooperation, encouraging peaceful development, responding to contingencies when necessary, deterring aggression, or prevailing in conflict.
