Southeast Asia defense chiefs call for 'immediate truce' in Gaza

U.N. should be more active preventing humanitarian disaster, group says

Indonesia's Prabowo Subianto chaired the two-day 17th ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting in Jakarta. © Reuters

ERWIDA MAULIA and ISMI DAMAYANTI, Nikkei staff writers

November 16, 2023 22:04 JST

JAKARTA -- Southeast Asian defense ministers called on Thursday for an immediate "truce" in the Israel-Hamas war, citing a ballooning civilian death toll, and urged the United Nations to take a "more active role" in resolving the conflict.

The two-day meeting in Jakarta saw defense chiefs from nine of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation's 10-member states -- Myanmar was absent -- agree on a call for an end to hostilities and the release of two dozen Thai nationals working in Israel when violence erupted last month.