US, China, Southeast Asia defence officials meet amid crises

Defence ministers and officials from the United States, China, Russia and Southeast Asia gathered in Indonesia on Thursday for a meeting where they are expected to discuss geopolitical crises in and outside the region.
Defence ministers in Southeast Asia’s regional bloc ASEAN called on Wednesday for a ceasefire in Gaza and a durable solution in Myanmar, as conflicts are deepening there.
“Indonesia is of the view that the region’s multiple security issues, ranging from traditional and non-traditional threats, can only be solved by extensive open and inclusive global collaboration,” Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia’s defence minister said in an opening speech on Thursday.
Prabowo did not mention any specific issues in the speech, but he named on Wednesday the South China Sea, the Korean Peninsula and Myanmar as “hot spots that can destabilise the region.”