ASEAN foreign ministers meeting starts

MANILA, Aug 5 (TNA) -- Foreign Affairs Ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) began their meeting in the Philippines capital of Manila on Saturday. ASEAN foreign ministers will also hold meetings with their counterparts from 27 countries including Australia, China, India, Japan, Russia, North and South Korea and the United States. North Korea’s recent missile tests are expected to take centre stage of the agenda. Foreign ministers of the 10-member of ASEAN are expected to ratify their joint declarations during the meeting which ends next Tuesday. After a full day meeting today, they would be joined by their counterparts from those countries in the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). The United States is projected to ask ASEAN and other Asian countries to take a tougher stand against North Korea. (END)