By Efe Ozkan
ISTANBUL (AA) – An annual meeting of the defense ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) kicked off on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Laos, with many bilateral meetings held on the sidelines of the event.
In his opening remarks to the 18th annual gathering, Kao Kim Hourn, ASEAN’s secretary-general, stressed the importance of strengthening practical cooperation and external engagements in the defense sector. The meeting concluded with the adoption of key guiding documents and decisions, with details of bilateral meetings announced on X.
On the sidelines, Kao held bilateral meetings with prominent defense leaders. In discussions with New Zealand’s Defense Minister Judith Collins KC, he commended her nation’s focus on climate change impacts as co-chair of the ADMM-Plus Experts’ Working Group on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (2024-2027).
Kao also met with Malaysia’s defense minister, Dato’ Seri Mohamed Khaled bin Nordin, reaffirming the ASEAN Secretariat’s support for Malaysia’s preparations for its ASEAN chairmanship in 2025. Additionally, Kao spoke with China’s Defense Minister Dong Jun, lauding Beijing’s commitment to advancing ASEAN defense cooperation.
In a separate ASEAN-US defense ministers’ informal meeting, Kao stressed the importance of ASEAN-US defense collaboration under the ADMM-Plus framework, contributing to the ASEAN-US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
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 total $3.62 trillion gross domestic product.