Senior officials from about two dozen of the world’s leading intelligence agencies held a secret meeting this weekend on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore, five people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Such meetings, organized by the Singapore government, have been held secretly for years at a separate location next to the security summit, they said. These meetings had not been previously reported.
The U.S. was represented by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haynes, who heads the U.S. intelligence community, and China was among the others, despite tensions between the two superpowers.
An Indian source said Samant Goel, head of the Research and Analysis Department of India’s overseas intelligence-gathering agency, was also present.
“This meeting is an important item on the international shadow agenda,” said a person with knowledge of the discussions. “Given the wide range of countries involved, this is not a trade festival, but a way to foster a deeper understanding of intent and the bottom line.
“There’s an unspoken rule among the intelligence services that they can talk about when more formal and public diplomacy becomes more difficult – and that’s a very important factor in times of tension, and the events in Singapore help facilitate that.”
All five sources discussing the meetings declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.
While participating in the Shangri-La Dialogue, “participants, including senior officials from the intelligence agencies, also took the opportunity to meet their counterparts,” said a spokesman for Singapore’s Ministry of Defense.
“Singapore’s Ministry of Defense may facilitate some of these bilateral or multilateral meetings,” the spokesman said. “Attendees found such meetings held between (conversations) beneficial.”
The U.S. embassy in Singapore said it had no information about the meeting. The Chinese and Indian governments did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand operate the so-called “Five Eyes” alliance to collect and share a wide range of intelligence, and their intelligence officers meet regularly.
Large meetings of the intelligence community are even rarer and almost never publicized.
While details on specific discussions in Singapore, Russia’s war in Ukraine and transnational crime arose during Friday’s talks were scant, the people added, the people familiar with the matter added. On Thursday night, intelligence chiefs held an informal meeting.
No Russian representatives were present, one of the sources said. Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Volodymr V. Havrylov attended the Shangri-La Dialogue but said he did not participate in the intelligence meeting.
Another source said the tone of the meeting was collaboration and cooperation, not confrontation.
In the main security dialogue, more than 600 delegates from 49 countries held three days of plenary meetings, as well as closed-door bilateral and multilateral meetings at the sprawling Shangri-La Hotel.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese delivered a keynote speech, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu and British Defense Minister,
Statements were also made by Japan, Canada, Indonesia and the Republic of Korea.
Haines is one of the official U.S. delegates to the Shangri-La Dialogue. Responding to a question from a Chinese military officer during a discussion of cybersecurity at the main conference, she said cooperation between countries was crucial.
“It’s absolutely important that even when there’s mistrust, even when you’re facing a de facto adversary, you still try to address and cooperate on issues of mutual concern and try to manage the potential for escalation,” she said. sex.”
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