[1/3] Japan's Minister of Defence Yasukazu Hamada, Cambodia's Minister of National Defence General Tea Banh and Germany's Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius attend the First Plenary Session of the 20th IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore June 3, 2023. REUTERS/Caroline ChiaSINGAPORE, June 3 (Reuters) - Cooperation, including among countries outside the region, is crucial to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, defence officials from the Philippines, Britain and Canada said on Saturday at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit. "Canada has a keen interest in building a region that is stable, that is balanced," said Anita Anand, Canada's defence minister. China's Minister of National Defence Li Shangfu had this week declined an invitation to meet Austin at the security summit. "A cordial handshake over dinner is no substitute for a substantive engagement," Austin said in his remarks earlier on Saturday.

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Persons: Defence Yasukazu Hamada, Tea Banh, Defence Boris Pistorius, Caroline Chia SINGAPORE, Defense Lloyd Austin, Anita Anand, Carlito Galvez Jr, Galvez, Anand, Ben Wallace, National Defence Li Shangfu, Austin, Gerry Doyle, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Japan's, Defence, Cambodia's, National Defence, Germany's, REUTERS, Defense, China's, Austin, Pentagon, Thomson Locations: Singapore, Philippines, Britain, Canada, Philippine, Asia, Russia, U.S