Two heads of state, 39 government ministers, over 550 delegates, 40 Young Leaders and over 1,500 supporting officials from nearly 80 countries translated into three packed days of defence diplomacy at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue 2026, which took place in Singapore on 29–31 May. Widely known as Asia’s premier defence summit, the Dialogue exists to create opportunities for defence cooperation to find practical solutions to shared challenges across the region. This year’s summit truly delivered