Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and their counterparts from Japan, China, and South Korea have held a meeting in Indonesia.

The ASEAN Plus Three meeting took place on Thursday afternoon. The participants included Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa, Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi, and South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin.

At the beginning, Hayashi said that the international community is now at a historical turning point. He said it is essential to maintain and reinforce a free and open international order based on the rule of law, in order for the Indo-Pacific region to remain a center of growth.

Wang said cooperation between the ASEAN and plus-three nations has actively contributed to prosperity and stability in East Asia. He noted that with international situations shifting at an accelerated pace, East Asia's future faces both opportunities and challenges.

No details of discussions at the meeting are immediately available. It is believed that cooperation for food security, such as how to secure an emergency food supply chain, was likely discussed in response to Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Maritime cooperation, such as cracking down on illegal fishing operations in the Indo-Pacific, is also believed to have been discussed. Participating countries consider the region to be strategically important.