Themed, “Strengthening security and stability”, the event drew the participation of 1,300 delegates, including defence ministers and military officers from 34 countries throughout the world.

Addressing the ceremony, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono underlined that world peace and security are currently facing new challenges, evidenced by tensions on the Korean peninsula, the Thai-Cambodian border dispute, Middle East instability, Somali piracy attacks, and radiation threats after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

He urged the world to cooperate more closely to deal with old and new challenges. The three-day event aims to gather high-ranking military leaders, experts and policy makers from the Asia-Pacific region to foster regional stability in the future, to promote cooperation among governments to deal with international and regional security threats as well as create a strategic model for defence and security.