Asahi wrote that the governments of Japan and South Korea are making arrangements to hold bilateral talks between their defense ministers on the sidelines of the annual security forum known as the Shangri-La Dialogue slated to take place in Singapore from May 30 to June 2. If realized, this will be the first meeting between the Japanese and ROK defense ministers since a South Korean navy vessel illuminated an MSDF patrol plane with its fire-control radar in December 2018. Yomiuri and Nikkei ran similar reports, adding that the two nations are also planning to hold a trilateral defense ministerial with the United States in Singapore.