Japan will host the first security meeting for senior defence ministers from Japan and 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries on Mar. 17 to discuss “nontraditional” security issues, Kyodo News cited the Defence Ministry as saying.

“Relations between Japan and ASEAN have long centred on the economy. So we hope to move them up to a higher level and start to build confidence from an area that is less likely to meet resistance,’’ a senior ministry official was quoted as saying in a briefing.

The one-day meeting in Tokyo, which will be chaired by Japanese Vice Defence Minister Kohei Masuda, will be followed by bilateral meetings between Masuda and his counterparts from Brunei, Indonesia and Singapore.

ASEAN is consisted of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

VietNamNet/VNA