At the 2026 Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Germany was represented by Nils Schmid, parliamentary state secretary to the federal defense minister, State Secretary Nils Hilmer and the chief of defense, General Carsten Breuer.

The conference, Asia's premier annual security gathering, is typically attended by minister-level officials from across the region, as well as Western countries, including the United States and its allies.

At this year’s summit, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Vietnamese President To Lam, who is also the general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, delivered keynote speeches.

During his address, Hegseth warned the participants not to get distracted by the "empty globalist rhetoric about the rules-based international order."

He said Washington seeks a "stable equilibrium" in Asia, and underlined that no country — including China — should be able to establish unquestioned dominance over the region.

To Lam, on the other hand, emphasized cooperation and a rules-based approach to governing international relations. "Rules and dialogue must become effective means of mitigating real risks," he said.

On the sidelines of the summit, DW spoke to German Parliamentary State Secretary Schmid about how Germany and Europe are working together with like-minded partners in Asia to bolster the rules-based global order.