Asian ministers have begun annual security talks today, amidst a host of concerns ranging from territorial claims in the South China Sea to Japanese school books.
The one-day meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum - Asia's key security grouping - brought together foreign ministers from the 10 countries of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) with those from major powers, including the United States, Russia, China, Japan and the European Union.
ASEAN Secretary-General Mr Rodolfo Severinio told reporters the meeting would cover both economic and political concerns.
He said topics would include tension on the divided Korean peninsula and the upheaval in Indonesia, where Ms Megawati Sukarnoputri this week replaced Mr Abdurrahman Wahid as president.
Other long-standing regional concerns include territorial rivalry in the South China Sea, where China and several ASEAN countries have competing claims to the Spratly Islands, a remote archipelago believed to be rich in oil.
Last week, hopes for a resumption of high-level dialogue between North Korea and the United States were dashed when Pyongyang said its foreign minister was unable to come to Hanoi for a possible meeting with US Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell because he was too busy.
Tensions have been evident at bilateral meetings between China and Japan, over trade, a new textbook critics say glosses over Japan's wartime brutality, and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's plan to visit a controversial shrine that honours alleged war criminals.
Further friction is expected when Mr Powell meets his Chinese and Vietnamese counterparts. On his first trip back to Vietnam since his wartime service in the country, MrPowell is expected to raise the issue of human rights with his counterparts from two of the world's last communist states.
Late yesterday, Mr Powell held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Mr Igor Ivanov, but no details emerged. Russia's Defence Minister Mr Sergei Ivanov was quoted as saying Russia would abandon its naval base at Vietnam's Cam Ranh Bay, which was once used by the Americans and Japanese, because it cannot afford to keep it.
Some regional observers have suggested both Washington and Beijing have designs on the strategic facility, but Vietnam is wary of both and has talked of a commercial future for the base.