Senior officials from approximately twenty major intelligence agencies around the world convened in a clandestine gathering on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security meeting in Singapore over the weekend, according to five individuals who spoke to Reuters.
These discreet meetings, organized by the Singapore government, have taken place separately from the security summit for several years but have not been previously disclosed, as per the sources.
Despite the ongoing tensions between the United States and China, the Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines, represented the U.S. intelligence community at the meeting. China was also among the participating nations.
Additionally, Samant Goel, the head of India's Research and Analysis Wing, the country's foreign intelligence agency, attended the meeting, according to an Indian source.
An individual knowledgeable about the discussions described the meeting as an essential fixture on the international intelligence agenda. They emphasized that it served as a platform for fostering a deeper understanding of intentions and bottom lines among participating countries, rather than being solely focused on tradecraft.
During times of diplomatic strain, intelligence services rely on covert dialogue as a crucial channel of communication when formal and open diplomacy becomes more challenging. The Singapore event plays a vital role in facilitating such communication, said the individual familiar with the matter.
Due to the sensitivity of the topic, all five sources chose to remain anonymous.
A spokesperson for the Singapore Ministry of Defence acknowledged that while attending the Shangri-La Dialogue, senior officials from intelligence agencies also took the opportunity to meet their counterparts. The ministry stated that it occasionally facilitates bilateral or multilateral meetings during the dialogue, which have been found beneficial by the participants.
The U.S. Embassy in Singapore denied having any information about the meeting. Requests for comment from the Chinese and Indian governments went unanswered.
The Five Eyes network, comprised of the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, regularly conducts intelligence gathering and sharing activities, with officials from these countries meeting frequently. However, larger gatherings of the intelligence community are rare and seldom publicized.
Although details about the specific discussions in Singapore remain scarce, one source with knowledge of the matter revealed that topics such as Russia's conflict in Ukraine and transnational crime were on the agenda during the talks on Friday. An informal gathering of the intelligence chiefs also took place on Thursday evening.
According to one source, no representative from Russia was present at the meeting, and Ukraine's deputy defense minister, Volodymr V. Havrylov, confirmed that he did not participate in the intelligence gathering.
The tone of the meeting was described by another source as collaborative, cooperative, and non-confrontational.
Simultaneously, the main security dialogue saw over 600 delegates from 49 countries engaging in three days of plenary sessions, as well as closed-door bilateral and multilateral meetings at the extensive Shangri-La Hotel.
Notable speakers at the dialogue included Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu, and counterparts from Britain, Japan, Canada, Indonesia, and South Korea.
Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, who was part of the official U.S. delegation, participated in a cybersecurity discussion during the main meeting. In response to a question from a Chinese military officer, she emphasized the importance of cooperation between nations, even in the face of distrust and adversarial relations, to manage potential escalation and address mutual interests.
On Friday, U.S. officials revealed that CIA Director William Burns visited China the previous month for talks with Chinese counterparts as part of the Biden administration's efforts to enhance communication with Beijing.
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