World's top spy chiefs hold secret conclave in Singapore: What did they discuss?

The world’s top spy chiefs held a secret meeting in Singapore last week. The meet saw senior officials from about two dozen of the world’s major intelligence agencies come together at the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue. But what do we know about this shadowy summit? Let’s take a closer look: What do we know? On Thursday evening,  intelligence chiefs held an informal gathering before holding talks on Friday. According to Reuters, the Singapore government has organised these gatherings for ‘several years’. They have been held discreetly at a separate venue alongside the security summit for many years, according to people in the know.

The meetings have not been previously reported.

“The meeting is an important fixture on the international shadow agenda,” said one person with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters. “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 among intelligence services that they can talk when more formal and open diplomacy is harder – it is a very important factor during times of tension, 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, “participants including senior officials from intelligence agencies also take the opportunity to meet their counterparts.” “The Singapore Ministry of Defence may facilitate some of these bilateral or multilateral meetings,” the spokesperson said. “Participants have found such meetings held on the sidelines of the (dialogue) beneficial.” Who was in attendance? The US, China and India among others. Washington was represented by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, the head of her country’s intelligence community, while China was among the other countries present, despite the tensions between the two superpowers. 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.

India was represented by Samant Goel, the head of India’s overseas intelligence gathering agency, the Research and Analysis Wing, according to an Indian source. [caption id=“attachment_12695212” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] R&W chief Samant Goel represented India. News18 Hindi[/caption] According to The Wire, India’s deputy national security advisor Vikram Misri was also present at the meet. “India does not believe in partnering in military alliances. We are, however, a partner for many countries including in the military and defence field,” he said, adding that when it comes to India’s pacts with the US, “as sovereign countries, India and the US conclude such agreements as all other countries have it,” Misri was quoted as saying by PTI. 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. What was discussed? 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. Another of the sources said the tone at the meeting was collaborative and cooperative, and not confrontational.

The US Embassy in Singapore said it had no information on the meeting.

More from Explainers

Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar Giorgio Armani will: Who will get the inheritance? What happens to his fashion empire?

The Chinese and Indian governments did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Shangri-La Dialogue 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 defence Lloyd Austin, Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu and counterparts from Britain. [caption id=“attachment_12619502” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Australia’s prime minister Anthony Albanese. AFP[/caption] “If you don’t have the pressure valve of dialogue, if you don’t have the capacity – at a decision-making level – to pick up the phone, to seek some clarity or provide some context, then there is always a much greater risk of assumptions spilling over into irretrievable action and reaction,” Albanese said. 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 absolutely critical, even when there is distrust, and even when you are facing in effect adversaries, that you still try to work through and cooperate on issues of mutual interest and also try to manage the potential for escalation,” she said. US officials said on Friday that CIA Director William Burns visited China last month for talks with Chinese counterparts as the Biden administration seeks to boost communications with Beijing. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.