China will not send its defense minister to this year’s Shangri-La Dialogue, shunning a chance for a high-level meeting with US and Asian counterparts as tensions simmer with Washington.

China announced Thursday it will instead be represented by a delegation from the People’s Liberation Army National Defense University, marking the first time in five years a high-level delegation from Beijing will miss Asia’s largest defense and security summit.

The United States will be represented by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the event, which often provides opportunities on the sidelines for rare face-to-face meetings between top generals and defense officials from the US and China.

Last year then-US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with Minister of National Defense Adm. Dong Jun on the sidelines of the event and the two pledged to continue a US-China dialogue amid simmering military tensions over Taiwan and Chinese aggression in the South China Sea.

Beijing’s decision not to send Dong this year throws into question whether there will be any meeting between the US and China at a time of heightened tensions between the two.

China has railed against America’s efforts in recent years to tighten its alliances and defense posture in Asia, while economic frictions rose to historic levels earlier this year after US President Donald Trump’s imposition of tariffs on China sparked a tit-for-tat between the two countries that saw duties rise to more than 100% on each other’s goods.

While the two sides announced a temporary tariff truce earlier this month, tensions flared against this week. On Wednesday, two days before the forum’s opening, the US aimed a shock double punch targeting software exports to Chinese tech companies and study visas granted to Chinese students, risking a fragile trade war truce between Washington and Beijing.

At a Chinese Defense Ministry press conference on Thursday, a spokesperson ducked a question on why Beijing was not sending its defense minister to the Singapore forum, expected to be attended by defense chiefs from around Asia, including many more closely tied to Washington than Beijing.

China was “open to communication at all levels between the two sides,” a ministry spokesperson said when asked about a potential sidelines meeting with the US delegation.

“They’re torqued at us,” the official said.

“It’s a signal that they are concerned about the level of engagement, specifically with the United States, to send a message that everything is not completely normal within that and there’s probably some other underlying reasons about just uncertainty about what Shangri-La is intended to accomplish,” the official said.

China has traditionally had few friends at Shangri-La and its speakers face real-time, unscripted questioning from journalists and academics attending the conference.

Last year, Defense Minister Dong faced tough questions after, in a Friday note keynote speech, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. denounced illegal, coercive and aggressive actions in the South China Sea in an apparent allusion to China.

China’s military has also been in the spotlight in recent years as its top ranks have been roiled by a sweeping corruption purge, with more than a dozen high-ranking figures in China’s defense establishment ousted since 2023.

Analysts said the absence of a high-level Chinese delegation at the defense summit may signal Beijing is emphasizing economics and trade over military relations in its foreign affairs at this time.

“While surely security engagements such (the Shangri-La Dialogue) … do matter in the broader scheme of geopolitics, at this juncture it seems regional governments are perhaps even more concerned about the tariff impact on their economies,” said Collin Koh, a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore

US is ‘here to deter adversaries’

Ahead of the weekend conference, much attention has focused on how US-led alliances across the region that grew during the Biden administration would hold up under Trump’s second term.

There was broad consensus among analysts that unlike the turmoil Trump has caused in Europe – with threats to pull back from NATO and abandon Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion – the US role in Asia has largely been consistent, centered on a policy to counter Chinese influence and back Taiwan.

Hegseth’s first trip to Asia as Defense Secretary began in the Philippines – on the front lines of China’s increasingly aggressive posture in Asia – where he said the US would work with allies to “reestablish deterrence” to counter “China’s aggression” in the Indo-Pacific.

On Friday, during an early morning workout with sailors aboard a US Navy ship in Singapore, he had a similar message:

“We send the signal to our allies and partners, hey, here in the Indo Pacific, America’s here, and we’re not going anywhere. We’re here to deter adversaries who would seek us harm.” Analysts noted that US-led military exercises, especially those involving key allies Japan, Australia, the Philippines and South Korea, have continued or even been bolstered in 2025.

But while increased US involvement is welcome by those participating in such exercises, Washington must be careful they don’t aggravate China so much that new tensions threaten the security of regional nations that are not US treaty allies, said Evan Laksmana, editor of the 2025 Asia Pacific Regional Security Assessment compiled by the International Institute of Strategic Studies.

“The deepening of US security engagement is welcome but not so far on the strategic side that it raises tensions,” he said.

On Thursday, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang said China “attaches great importance to the military relations” with the US, but warned Washington against “conjuring up a powerful enemy for itself whether intentionally or unintentionally.”

“Such imagination is not rational and extremely dangerous,” Zhang said.

A burgeoning new sporting trend inspired by the biggest and hardest full contact hits in American football and rugby has proved deadly, and there’s now calls for it to be banned.

Branded by an organized league as “the world’s fiercest, new collision sport,” Run It Straight games see two people sprint directly towards each other for a high-impact collision, with no protective gear. Whoever dominates wins.

Tens of thousands of dollars are offered up as prize money in organized events in New Zealand and Australia and the game has become a social media craze with teenagers trying it out at home, with fatal consequences.

Ryan Satterthwaite died in hospital on Monday after a backyard challenge went tragically wrong in the small city of Palmerston North. New Zealand Police said the 19-year-old suffered a serious head injury.

Pete Satterthwaite said when he saw local news reports about Run It, he thought the game was a “stupid idea” and instinctively knew that “someone is going to get seriously hurt.”

He just wasn’t expecting it to be his own nephew.

“The ultimate aim is to hurt your opponent, run over the top of him … you’re leading with your shoulder, leading with your head,” he said. “Regardless of whether they have medical staff on site and everybody has a test, it’s still the most stupid thing I’ve ever seen.”

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon urged people not to take part in the tackling game, calling it a “dumb thing to do.”

“You’re hearing the advice from police, from the medical fraternity, from government, from principals saying don’t do it,” Luxon told local media on Friday, adding that organizers of formal events should stop them.

“To the adults that are involved in more formal organization of it and are influencing it and leading this out on social media, I think you need to stop and I can’t be any clearer,” Luxon said.

Following calls for the tackling game to be banned, New Zealand’s sport minister Mark Mitchell said on Friday he had sought advice on what measures the government can take to crack down on what he labelled “unregulated activities that pose a significant level of risk.”

‘Built to break limits’

The Run It Straight game combines elements of American football and rugby – two sports that have tackling in common but with distinct rules to protect players.

Footballers wear a helmet and thick padding to withstand high-impact tackles on the whole body except the head and knees. Rugby players take the field without helmets and with no, or little, padding, while tackles are only allowed below the shoulders.

The new game has been popularized in part by by a company called RUNIT Championship League, which says the game was “born to go viral” and claims to have “taken social media by storm with tens of millions of views.” CEO and owner Charizma, whose real name is Christian Lesa, says the concept started when he was hospitalized and struggling with mental health, according to an interview with Australian public broadcaster ABC.

Lesa said he was inspired by YouTuber Donald De La Haye, nicknamed “Deestroying,” a Costa Rican-American professional football player who would pit players 1-on-1 for viral clicks. He replicated the concept in Australia and the tournament-like event has spread across New Zealand and the Pacific islands.

As followers and subscribers grew on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, RUNIT began hosting championships where participants bull run into each other and the last one standing takes home a cash prize.

The finals of the RUNIT league were scheduled in June with 200,000 New Zealand dollars (around $118,800) up for grabs.

‘Risk of death’

Run It Straight-type collisions are more than five times the force of a rugby tackle, according to Professor Patria Hume from Auckland University of Technology, who warned there was a high risk of brain injury or death.

“Ryan’s death was preventable. It was a backyard copycat of the Runit events which have been designed for social media impact,” Hume said.

“Runit lacks the structure, safety protocols, and purpose of traditional sports. While rugby, boxing, and MMA are inherently physical, they are governed by rules designed to minimize harm and protect athletes.”

“It’s not about the head hitting the ground, it’s the impact,” she said.

A RUNIT Championship League spokesperson said in a statement that it does not encourage “any copying of the sport” saying it should only be done under “strict conditions.”

Alarm bells had already been ringing about the game before the death of Ryan Satterthwaite. Two men were knocked unconscious, with one of them going into a seizure, during a Runit league event at Auckland’s Trusts Arena last week.

“Safety of all participants at our venue is paramount and we therefore made the decision not to allow any future Runit events to take place at The Trusts Arena.”

High-contact sports like rugby and rugby league are hugely popular in New Zealand and the death of Satterthwaite has put pressure on sporting bodies to take a stronger stance on the Run It Straight trend.

New Zealand Rugby issued a statement warning people “not to take part in Run It Straight games or competitions as they carry significant risk of serious injury.”

“Those wanting to play contact sports should register for a school or club team and learn in a controlled and safe environment how to tackle safely and the art of evasion,” the statement said.

A number of New Zealand schools have moved to ban students from playing the game on school grounds and it has also been banned from some public parks in the country’s biggest city, Auckland, by a local council board.

David Bovey, rector of Palmerston North Boys’ High School which Ryan Satterthwaite attended several years ago, said he had been planning to warn his students about the risks of playing Run It Straight on campus before he heard about Ryan’s death.

“It’s an absolute tragedy… you can almost say something like this was almost going to happen,” Bovey told RNZ, adding he received the news just 20 minutes before he was due to address the students on Monday.

“Teenage boys are terrible at thinking about consequences and they never think anything is going to happen to them and so, you know, something like this I think really hit home in terms of the message we are trying to give the boys – ‘this is something I shouldn’t be doing.’”

When Nigerian American actor-singer Rotimi and Tanzanian pop star Vanessa Mdee first met in 2019, it was the beginning of a love story that neither of them expected.

That first encounter six years ago could be straight from a rom-com. They had both just performed at the Essence Festival of Culture in New Orleans and ended up at the same Spotify afterparty – neither one particularly eager to be there. But fate had other plans.

“She was sitting on a pool table,” Rotimi laughs. “The lights were glowing and beaming, and I just thought, ‘Yo, who is this?’”

A friend of Rotimi made the introduction, which led to several hours of deep conversation. Within days, they were inseparable. A long-distance relationship began – Vanessa in Tanzania, Rotimi in Atlanta, Georgia, in the US – and she came to visit not long after. “I never left,” Vanessa says with a grin.

Love in lockdown

While the Covid-19 pandemic forced much of the world into stillness, for Rotimi and Vanessa, it became a sacred time. “I really thank God because he was creating an environment for us to really dive deep into getting to know each other on a very intimate and spiritual level,” Vanessa reflects.

At the encouragement of Rotimi, she booked a flight to the US for a mini vacation, but it became an extended stay due to travel restrictions.

“If I had been a day late, we wouldn’t have been able to see each other for the period of nine-plus months during which the borders were locked,” she says.

The lockdown forced them both into a much-needed break.

“I came onto the scene at the age of 18 years old, so I had been working well into my 30s at this point and I had never taken time off,” Vanessa adds.

The timing was also divine for Rotimi, who had just released the hit “In My Bed.”

“For me, during that time, if the world was open and my record ‘In My Bed’ had just come out, I would have been moving around touring for the whole run of that song, still doing what I needed to do, and my mind wouldn’t have been on anything else,” he says.

That time off allowed something deeper than fame to grow, the couple says, sparking a journey toward faith, family and purpose.

“God wanted me to sit down and heal a lot of things,” Rotimi adds, “and He blessed me with the opportunity to learn this woman.”

From fame to faith

Vanessa, once one of East Africa’s biggest music stars, made headlines when she walked away from the industry at the height of her career in 2020. But the decision wasn’t impulsive – it was deeply spiritual.

“For me, (the music industry) was depleting my mental, spiritual, emotional and physical health in many ways. I turned to many different vices that were not good for me as a person,” she says.

“It got to a point where the music industry became extremely toxic for me. I’m not saying it’s everybody’s story; it’s my story.”

Today, she co-leads “For The Better,” the couple’s faith-based wellness app and community, where she mentors women across the globe through Bible studies, prayer circles, and now a women’s conference.

“I just want every time I step out and do something to be meaningful, purposeful, and effective,” she adds.

Rotimi, whose real name is Olurotimi Akinosho, has embraced a life beyond the spotlight, although he continues to build his career with his current role as Pastor Charles on the Showtime series “The Chi” while releasing new music.

“The job is to be a vessel,” the 36-year-old says. “God works in mysterious ways; it’s not a cookie-cutter approach – it’s more of a roundabout way.”

A ‘kingdom marriage’

Their love is both bold and deeply rooted. Married in 2021, they refer to their relationship as a “kingdom marriage,” grounded in their shared faith.

“We’re not perfect,” Vanessa says. “But we know who’s at the center of it all: God.”

Together, they are raising two children and navigating a blended cultural household where Yoruba, Swahili and American traditions harmonize.

“(The children) know they’re 50% Tanzanian and 50% Nigerian, and they can champion that,” Rotimi says. “It’s about giving our kids roots and wings.”

“Building a strong foundation for our children requires a lot of time, commitment, and being very present – like playing with the kids, nurturing their skills, and honing their crafts while giving them a strong foundation in Christ,” adds Vanessa.

From love-centered music and wellness apps to Bible studies, it’s clear Rotimi and Vanessa feel they are on a mission that reflects a deeper calling. However, when asked if ministry was in their future, the couple was uncertain.

“It would be foolish for us to say no, but it’s too early to say yes,” Rotimi says.

“I just know that whatever we do, it’s going to be for His glory,” Vanessa adds.