Security Policy, but with greater ambition - to create a Track One organization that "defence ministers needed if they were to have any chance at all of meeting multilaterally in a transregional format". Invitations were essentially focused on the members of the ASEAN Regional Forum in order to serve as a true regional security institution. Singapore was chosen as the location for the initial conference and with the Shangri-La Hotel as the venue. Chipman approached Singapore President SR Nathan in February 2001 to propose the idea, and Nathan offered to provide IDSS support until the IISS could run the conference independently. The idea was brought forward to the Cabinet of Singapore and was approved to be supported by the Ministry of Defence. In 2004, the IISS Asia office was opened to allow IISS to organize the summit independently. 2000s Initiated in 2002, it was an "unofficial defence summit'" which allowed defence officials to meet "privately and in confidence, bilaterally and multilaterally, without the obligation to produce a formal statement or communique". About a dozen deputy ministers and ministerial representatives attended the inaugural summit (then known as the Asia Security Conference), including a US delegation led by US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz. The first summit was organized in six plenary sessions lasting for one and a half days. In 2003, the second summit expanded its invitation list to include chiefs of defence staff, and permanent or under secretaries of defence ministries. The agenda this year was organized around five plenary sessions supplemented by two simultaneous off-the-record 'break-out groups'. In 2004, the invitation list was again further expanded to include participating countries' most senior intelligence and the police and national security officials of some countries. The number of break-out groups was increased to three. In 2005, Pakistan was represented for the first time. In 2006, the number of delegations had risen to 23 countries, with 17 being led by their respective defence ministers, and another 3 by deputy defence ministers or equivalent. The 2007 iteration of the SLD was a landmark meeting as it attracted top-level participation from China. The Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army (with the status of Vice-Minister) Lieutenant-General Zhang Qinsheng, led Beijing's delegation that year. Subsequently, in 2008, Vietnam and Myanmar elevated their representation to deputy minister level. Then in 2009, Vietnam was represented at full ministerial status with General Phung Quang