SINGAPORE: The world is beset with multiple risks and uncertainty that countries must confront squarely, To Lam, Vietnam’s top leader, said on Friday (May 29), while inaugurating Asia’s premier defence forum, the Shangri-La Dialogue.

He said in his keynote speech the challenges facing the world included the erosion of international rules and law, a crisis of development models such as slowing growth and climate change, and a crisis of trust among nations.

“The three crises confronting our world today are not inevitable realities that we are bound to accept,” Lam said, calling for reinforcing international law, setting up inclusive and sustainable growth drivers, as well as initiating dialogue and transparency.

Installed as president last month in addition to his role as Communist Party chief, Lam is the most powerful Vietnamese leader in decades and his joint mandate allows him to play a more prominent diplomatic role.

The Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual event in Singapore which runs until Sunday, draws a mix of defence ministers, generals, intelligence chiefs, diplomats, analysts and weapons makers.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and counterparts from Australia, Britain, France, Japan, and other nations were in the audience. A notable absentee was China’s Dong Jun, who skipped the event for the second year running.

Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said China’s low-key presence at the meeting – Beijing has sent only experts and scholars from the People’s Liberation Army – was a lost opportunity to engage with countries from around the world.