The annual Shangri-La Dialogue, also known as the 15th Asia Security Summit, kicks off in Singapore today. The three-day event gathers delegations from nearly 30 countries, including military officials from China, the US, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, France, Italy and many others.

The Chinese military delegation is led by Admiral Sun Jianguo, deputy chief of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission. He is set to deliver a speech and hold bilateral and multilateral talks with his counterparts from various countries.

He will also expound the Chinese military’s policies and practices in strengthening Asia-Pacific security cooperation and promoting regional security.

Experts say the dialogue should focus on substantial results of communication, and the South China Sea issue should not be overstated.

"In recent years, whenever people have mentioned the Shangri-La Dialogue or the South China Sea issue, it seemed that they usually focus on the relationship between China and the ASEAN, which is, in fact, very complicated, deep, and broad," said Cheng Yung-Nien, director of East Asia Institute, Nat'l Univ. of Singapore.