Nearly 2,000 military officers, government officials and researchers from about 100 countries, regions and international organizations assembled in Beijing this week for the 13th Xiangshan Forum. The meeting is China’s attempt to put its stamp on regional security discussions, ensuring that the agenda and the messages hew to its preferred themes.
Predictably, Japan was a villain in those discussions, even though the hosts had the diplomatic sense not to call this country out by name. Nevertheless, the project was, again, a master class in strategic communications.
The Xiangshan Forum was launched 20 years ago to give Beijing a venue for security discussions in which it set the agenda, selected participants and controlled the media environment. It has convened 12 times since then and has become one of an expanding number of regionwide security conclaves, along with the Shangri-La Dialogue and the Seoul Defense Dialogue.
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