World’s spy chiefs meet in secret conclave in Singapore

By Reuters: Senior officers from about two dozen of the world’s most important intelligence corporations held a secret meeting on the fringes of the Shangri-La Dialogue security meeting in Singapore this weekend, 5 of us instructed Reuters.

Such conferences are organised by the Singapore authorities and have been discreetly held at a separate venue alongside the protection summit for quite a few years, they acknowledged. The conferences have not been beforehand reported.

The US was represented by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, the highest of her nation’s intelligence group, whereas China was among the many many alternative worldwide areas present, whatever the tensions between the two superpowers.

Samant Goel, the highest of India’s overseas intelligence gathering firm, the Research and Analysis Wing, moreover attended, an Indian provide acknowledged.

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“The meeting is an important fixture on the international shadow agenda,” acknowledged one particular person with data of the discussions. “Given the range of countries involved, it is not a festival of tradecraft, but rather a way of promoting a deeper understanding of intentions and bottom lines.

“There is an unspoken code amongst intelligence suppliers that they’ll focus on when additional formal and open diplomacy is extra sturdy – it is a important difficulty all through events of stress, and the Singapore event helps promote that.”

All five sources who discussed the meetings declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.

A spokesperson for the Singapore Ministry of Defence said that while attending the Shangri-La Dialogue, “people along with senior officers from intelligence corporations moreover take the possibility to fulfill their counterparts.”

“The Singapore Ministry of Defence would possibly facilitate a number of of those bilateral or multilateral conferences,” the spokesperson said. “Participants have found such conferences held on the sidelines of the (dialogue) useful.”

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The US Embassy in Singapore said it had no information on 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 what is called the Five Eyes network to gather and share a broad range of intelligence, and their intelligence officials meet frequently.

Larger meetings of the intelligence community are rarer, and almost never publicised.

Although few details were available on the specific discussions in Singapore, Russia’s war in Ukraine and transnational crime figured in the talks on Friday, the person with knowledge of the discussions added. On Thursday evening, the intelligence chiefs held an informal gathering.

No Russian representative was present, one of the sources said. Ukraine’s deputy defence minister, Volodymr V. Havrylov, was at the Shangri-La Dialogue but said he did not attend the intelligence meeting.

Another of the sources said the tone at the meeting was collaborative and cooperative, and not confrontational.

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At the main security dialogue, more than 600 delegates from 49 countries held three days of plenary sessions, as well as closed-door bilateral and multilateral meetings at the sprawling Shangri-La Hotel.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese gave the keynote address while US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu and counterparts from Britain,

Japan, Canada, Indonesia and South Korea also spoke.

Haines was among the official US delegates to the Shangri-La Dialogue. At a discussion on cybersecurity in the main meeting, she said in response to a question from a Chinese military officer that cooperation between countries was essential.

“It is totally essential, even when there’s distrust, and even when you end up going by means of in impression adversaries, that you just nonetheless try and work by and cooperate on issues with mutual curiosity and as well as try and deal with the potential for escalation,” she acknowledged.

US officers acknowledged on Friday that CIA Director William Burns visited China remaining month for talks with Chinese counterparts as a result of the Biden administration seeks to boost communications with Beijing.

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