The question behind Zelenskyy’s visit: Are Europe and Asia converging?

Singapore — Saturday evening, a crowd gathered near the doors of the Shangri-La hotel. They were waiting for a speaker, the last one to be announced at the defense conference held there each year, and one not even from the region.

Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy entered to this welcome of cameras and cell phones, wearing his usual T-shirt and fatigue-style pants. The next day, he gave the summit’s final address, casting Ukraine as a global country and Russia’s full-scale invasion as a war of global concern.

“We found ourselves in a war that affects everyone,” he said.

Zelenskyy’s surprise arrival marked the second year of a trend. The Shangri-La Dialogue is Asia’s top defense summit, but since 2022, it’s become more European as officials from the continent see Russia’s war as an omen.

“Europe has woken up about the fact that despite the great geographical distance of the Taiwan Strait to Europe, that the impact [of a war] on Europe’s economy would be enormous,” said Bonnie Glaser, an expert on China at the German Marshall Fund.

And yet, despite this concern, it’s not clear that many Asian officials see the same warning — or that Ukraine is even the war they care about the most right now. Israel’s campaign against the terrorist group Hamas in Gaza matters more to some countries in the region calling for a ceasefire.

There lies the tension with Zelenskyy’s visit. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin the day before described a “new convergence” of countries in the Indo-Pacific that share a set of ideals, such as respect and sovereignty. European officials visiting Singapore share many of those values and are growing more attentive to the region. But the two region’s security concerns are still far from converging.

‘An interest in this region’

Austin himself made this connection in his speech the day before Zelenskyy’s.

The U.S. calls China its top challenge and Austin’s speech reiterated that hierarchy. And yet, while answering questions after his address, Austin pointed to the many European officials in the crowd.

“They’re not in the room because I invited him,” he said. “They’re in the room because they have an interest in this region.”

Countries such as the Netherlands and Germany have temporarily deployed ships to the Indo-Pacific, with a Dutch frigate transiting the Taiwan Strait just before the conference began. Britain also has a more enduring commitment to the region now as part of the AUKUS defense pact, an agreement with the U.S. on nuclear-powered submarines and advanced technology.

Zelenskyy’s arrival was like a crescendo atop these different notes.

Austin met with him and a group of Ukrainian defense officials on the sidelines of the conference. According to a Pentagon readout, they discussed U.S. assistance and pledged to stay at Ukraine’s side. Zelenskyy later wrote on the social media app X that the two discussed air defense and the delivery of F-16 fighter jets, among other issues.

Meanwhile, Austin and others at the conference had already been linking Asian and European interests in reference to China, where companies have supported Russia’s defense industry throughout the war . In a meeting with Chinese Minister of National Defense Adm. Dong Jun, Austin warned that there would be consequences if Chinese companies continued that support.

“He said quite clearly that if China’s support for Russia’s defense sector continues, then the United States with our allies will have to take further measures,” a senior American defense official told reporters afterward , declining to elaborate further.

Several countries in the region also see their interests in Europe.

Japan, Australia and South Korea are among the countries that have supported Ukraine during the war, whether through aid, sanctions or equipment. Taiwan sees Russia’s invasion as a potential harbinger of a potential attack from China, which considers the island a rogue breakaway province.

“This was a topic of conversation in all of our meetings in Taiwan, whether or not we stand by Ukraine,” said Sen. Chris Coons, D-De., who co-chaired a congressional delegation to the island and then Singapore, in an interview.

But not all countries in the region agree with this linkage.

“Taiwan is not Ukraine and neither is China Russia,” said Singapore defense Minister Ng Eng Hen in a speech just before Zelenskyy’s.

And while many of the speakers referenced Ukraine, the war in Gaza also loomed over the conference. The president-elect of Indonesia, which has a large Muslim population, said his country was ready to send a peacekeeping force to the strip to maintain a ceasefire. The first question Zelenskyy got after his speech was about Ukraine’s stance on Israel.

Notwithstanding, Zelenskyy continued to argue that the audience should care about Russia’s war. His speech described the conflict as global, discussing partners supporting Kyiv from outside NATO and also the effects of Russia’s aggression elsewhere, such as the food scarcity it created for northern Africa.

“We need the support of Asian countries,” Zelenskyy argued.

That doesn’t mean he expects more countries to send Ukraine weapons. In a Q&A after his speech, he mentioned a “peace summit” Ukraine is holding in Switzerland later in June as an example of non-military ways to contribute. That said, he didn’t seem to be taking it for granted.

Ending his speech, he thanked Singapore for the invitation to the conference, and then he addressed the crowd.

“Thank you for your attention,” Zelenskyy said.

Noah Robertson is the Pentagon reporter at Defense News. He previously covered national security for the Christian Science Monitor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and government from the College of William & Mary in his hometown of Williamsburg, Virginia.

新加坡——周六晚上，一群人聚集在香格里拉酒店门口。他们正在等待一位演讲者，这是每年在此举行的国防会议上最后一位公布的演讲嘉宾，而且这位演讲者甚至并非来自该地区。

乌克兰总统泽连斯基身着标志性的T恤和工装裤，在众多相机和手机的簇拥下步入会场。第二天，他在峰会上发表了闭幕致辞，将乌克兰定位为一个全球性国家，并将俄罗斯的全面入侵描述为一场全球关注的战争。

他说：“我们发现自己身处一场影响到每个人的战争之中。”

泽连斯基的意外到访标志着这一趋势进入第二年。香格里拉对话是亚洲最重要的防务峰会，但自2022年以来，随着欧洲大陆官员将俄罗斯的战争视为不祥之兆，该峰会的欧洲色彩日益浓厚。

德国马歇尔基金会中国问题专家葛来仪表示：“欧洲已经意识到，尽管台湾海峡与欧洲相距遥远，但战争对欧洲经济的影响将是巨大的。”

然而，尽管存在这种担忧，但尚不清楚许多亚洲官员是否也看到了同样的警告——或者说，他们目前最关心的战争是否真的是乌克兰战争。对于该地区一些呼吁停火的国家而言，以色列在加沙打击恐怖组织哈马斯的行动更为重要。

泽连斯基此次访问的紧张局势就在于此。美国国防部长劳埃德·奥斯汀在前一天描述了印太地区各国之间“新的趋同”，这些国家拥有一系列共同的理念，例如尊重和主权。访问新加坡的欧洲官员也认同其中许多价值观，并且越来越关注该地区。但这两个地区的安全关切仍远未趋同。

“对这个地区感兴趣”

奥斯汀本人在泽连斯基演讲前一天的演讲中也提到了这一点。

美国称中国是其面临的最大挑战，奥斯汀的演讲也重申了这一地位。然而，在演讲后的问答环节，奥斯汀却将目光投向了在场的众多欧洲官员。

他说：“他们来这里不是因为我邀请了他，而是因为他们对这个地区感兴趣。”

荷兰和德国等国已向印太地区临时部署舰艇，其中一艘荷兰护卫舰在会议召开前不久穿越了台湾海峡。英国也根据《奥库斯防务条约》（AUKUS）对该地区做出了更为长期的承诺。该条约是英国与美国就核动力潜艇和先进技术达成的协议。

泽连斯基的到来就像是在这些不同的音符之上奏响了一曲渐强的乐章。

奥斯汀在会议间隙会见了泽连斯基和一群乌克兰国防官员。据五角大楼发布的消息，他们讨论了美国的援助问题，并承诺继续与乌克兰站在一起。泽连斯基随后在社交媒体应用X上发文称，双方讨论了防空和F-16战斗机的交付等问题。

与此同时，奥斯汀和其他与会者已经在会上将亚洲和欧洲的利益与中国联系起来，因为中国企业在整个战争期间都支持俄罗斯的国防工业。在与中国国防部长董军海军上将的会晤中，奥斯汀警告说，如果中国企业继续这种支持，将会产生后果。

“他非常明确地表示，如果中国继续支持俄罗斯的国防事业，那么美国及其盟友将不得不采取进一步措施，”一位美国高级国防官员事后告诉记者，但他拒绝进一步详细说明。

该地区的几个国家也认为欧洲对他们有利。

日本、澳大利亚和韩国等国在战争期间都曾向乌克兰提供支持，包括援助、制裁和装备。台湾则将俄罗斯的入侵视为中国可能发动攻击的先兆，中国视台湾为叛离的省份。

“无论我们是否支持乌克兰，这都是我们在台湾所有会议上讨论的话题，”特拉华州民主党参议员克里斯·库恩斯在接受采访时说。他曾共同担任国会代表团访问台湾和新加坡的团长。

但该地区并非所有国家都认同这种联系。

“台湾不是乌克兰，中国也不是俄罗斯，”新加坡国防部长黄永宏在泽连斯基讲话前发表讲话时说道。

尽管许多发言者都提到了乌克兰，但加沙战争也笼罩着此次会议。印尼当选总统表示，印尼已准备好向加沙地带派遣维和部队，以维持停火。印尼拥有庞大的穆斯林人口。泽连斯基演讲结束后，被问到的第一个问题就是乌克兰对以色列的立场。

尽管如此，泽连斯基仍然坚持认为听众应该关注俄罗斯的战争。他的演讲将这场冲突描述为全球性的，讨论了北约以外的盟友对基辅的支持，以及俄罗斯侵略行为在其他地区造成的影响，例如给北非带来的粮食短缺。

泽连斯基辩称：“我们需要亚洲国家的支持。”

但这并不意味着他期望更多国家向乌克兰提供武器。在演讲后的问答环节中，他提到乌克兰将于六月下旬在瑞士举行的“和平峰会”，以此作为非军事贡献方式的一个例子。尽管如此，他似乎并没有对此掉以轻心。

演讲结束时，他感谢新加坡的邀请，并向在场听众发表了讲话。

“谢谢大家的关注，”泽连斯基说道。

诺亚·罗伯逊是《防务新闻》的五角大楼记者。他此前曾为《基督教科学箴言报》报道国家安全新闻。他拥有弗吉尼亚州威廉斯堡威廉与玛丽学院的英语和政治学学士学位。