US, Chinese defense chiefs join southeast Asian counterparts in Laos for ASEAN annual meeting of defense ministers

ANKARA

Representatives from the US, China, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea met their Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) counterparts Thursday in Laos for an annual meeting of defense chiefs from the bloc.

The meeting kicked off Wednesday in Vientiane under the chairmanship of Laos, with meetings held on the sidelines of the event.

"I joined defense ministers from across the Indo-Pacific for the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus today in Laos. Our countries are working together in support of a shared commitment to peace, security, and stability in the region," US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin wrote on X.

Australian deputy defense chief Pat Conroy said Canberra was "strengthening defense ties" with southeast Asian nations and working to "bring military officers and defense officials from across ASEAN member states to Australia to pursue education and training opportunities."

In a separate meeting between ASEAN and China, the bloc's secretary-general Kao Kim Hourn applauded Beijing's continued contribution to the defense sector.

Kao briefed the ASEAN defense ministers earlier on recent developments in the region and shared key outcomes of the 44th and 45th ASEAN summits in Vientiane in October.

The three-day meeting will end Friday.

The ASEAN region is home to more than 700 million people, spans 4.5 million square kilometers (1.7 million square miles) and in 2022, had a gross domestic product of $3.62 trillion.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid