On Monday, June 1, 2026, South Korea’s Hanwha Group announced that representatives of its defense and aerospace company Hanwha Aerospace and maritime company Hanwha Ocean took part in the 23rd edition of the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue 2026 security conference in Singapore, held on May 29–31.
Photo: International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS)
Key topics at the conference included the transformation of global security around agile allies, industrial capabilities, and AI-driven defense. Hanwha representatives met with senior government officials and leaders of global defense companies from the Indo-Pacific region, the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries.
Hanwha Group’s participation reflects its growing role in the global defense landscape and its influential voice in contributing to the discussion on the future of defense industry cooperation.
The main theme of this year’s summit was the transformation of the global security architecture around agile allies. The United States called on partner countries to build their own defense capabilities and industrial bases, while increasing their activity in support of regional and global security.
Hanwha is a partner in these efforts to integrate industrial potential into allied economies. Rather than developing traditional export relationships, Hanwha is focused on helping allied countries build defense industrial capacity on their own territory by actively producing jointly with partners.
A closely related theme was industrial capability. During the discussions, participants emphasized the need to increase production capacity in allied countries, particularly in areas such as long-range weapons.
This approach has also gained traction in other allied discussions, where the priority is to build a shared industrial base that countries can use jointly.
The conference, organized annually by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), is one of the most important security forums in the Asia-Pacific region. It brings together defense ministers, military commanders, senior officials, and industry leaders from around the world. Although the forum focuses on security in the Indo-Pacific region, it has become a venue for broader discussions on allied defense strategy, offering a neutral environment in which governments and industry can engage on issues shaping global security.
Hanwha, with its ability to produce military platforms, both land and naval, as well as artificial intelligence technologies at scale, is part of this discussion.
Hanwha Group President and Global Chief Strategy Officer Alex Wong said:
“Hanwha deploys world-class advanced manufacturing technology, produces state-of-the-art defense platforms, and possesses a significant and expanding global footprint. The company is uniquely positioned to partner with nations urgently seeking to strengthen their defense capabilities and industrial bases.”
Press release