By Prashanth Parameswaran
Chinese military official confirms a special meeting will be convened later this year.
China will host ASEAN defense ministers for the first time in Beijing later this year, a military official said at Asia’s premier security summit this weekend.
According to Admiral Sun Jianguo in a speech to the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, China will host the China-ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Special Meeting in October this year, reportedly on the sidelines of the 6th Xiangshan Forum in Beijing. The Forum, which was upgraded to an annual, track 1.5 event last year, is one of several ways that Beijing is trying to promote its new Asian security concept, which envisions an ‘Asia for Asians.’ Some have even seen the Xiangshan Forum as China’s answer to the Shangri-La Dialogue itself.
“We are ready to discuss with other countries the way ahead for defense and security cooperation,” Sun said.
While the defense ministers have already been meeting under the ASEAN-China Defense Ministers’ Informal Meeting – which saw its fourth iteration in Myanmar last year – China has been trying over the past few years to invite ASEAN defense ministers for a special meeting in Beijing as a way to boost its relationship with ASEAN.
Read the full story at The Diplomat