The Foreign Ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have begun talks in the Philippine capital Manila. <br/><br/>In an opening speech today, Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alan Cayetano talked about the significance and contribution of ASEAN, which marks its 50th anniversary next week. <br/><br/>Foreign Ministers from other countries, including Japan, China, North and South Korea, and the United States, will join the talks later. <br/><br/>High on the agenda at the gathering are the recent missile tests by North Korea and China's militarization of artificial islands in the South China Sea. <br/>