The Shangri-La Dialogue wrapped up yesterday with an underwhelming speech from PLA Deputy Chief of General Staff, Lieutenant General Qi Jianguo. Or at least, so I thought. Yoichi Kato, national security correspondent for one of Japan's biggest daily newspapers, Asahi Shimbun, heard something else, as he explains in the interview below.
As you will hear, I forgot General Qi's name during what was a hastily arranged interview, but don't let that put you off. I began by asking Yoichi about the provocative question he asked from the floor to General Qi, and then we discussed one of the real talking points of the event, which was how surprigingly vocal the Chinese delegation had been. Yoichi also had a surprising take on what Chuck Hagel's Shangri-La speech signaled to China.
[sound:yoichi_kato.mp3]