JAKARTA/MANILA -- Defense ministers from ASEAN members began key meetings in Jakarta on Wednesday, after a recent collision between a China Coast Guard vessel and a Philippine boat in the South China Sea and subsequent spats added to tensions in the region.
The ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting, hosted by current chair Indonesia, will be followed on Thursday by an expanded talk, the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus, with the bloc's eight "dialogue partner" countries, including China, India, Japan and the U.S., at a time when the world's attention is on the Israel-Hamas war.
