HANOI, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- The first ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) opened here on Tuesday, drawing defense chiefs or representatives from 10 Southeast Asian countries and eight dialogue partners including China and the United States.

The other six dialogue partners of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are Australia, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia and South Korea.

The ADMM-Plus was established at the proposal of the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting, with the aim of boosting mutual trust and cooperation between ASEAN and countries in the Asia-Pacific and jointly tackling cross-border non-traditional security challenges.

At the 4th ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting in May, it was proposed that a mechanism be established for the meeting of defense ministers of ASEAN and its dialogue partners. It was also decided that the meeting be held every three years, with the first one in October this year.

The establishment of the ADMM-Plus mechanism and the holding of its inaugural meeting conform to the common interests of all countries in the Asia-Pacific and are conducive to peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

China supports the ADMM-Plus mechanism and hopes it will provide a new platform for ASEAN and its dialogue partners to jointly deal with the non-traditional security challenges and to strengthen mutual trust and cooperation.