The first one-day ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus opened in Vietnam today, drawing defense chiefs or representatives from ten Southeast Asian countries and eight dialogue partners including China and the United States. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung delivered the opening remarks at the meeting. The meeting, with the theme of Strategic Cooperation for Peace, Stability and Development in the Region, is the first gathering of defense ministers from ASEAN and its dialogue partners and it aims to demonstrate political will of participating countries. Delegates at the meeting are expected to hold discussions on five prioritized cooperation areas including humanitarian aid and disaster relief, military medicine, maritime security, counter-terrorism, and peace-keeping operations. The meeting draws participation of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc, and their eight dialogue partners — India, Australia, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Russia and the United States.