ASEAN defense chiefs call for immediate truce, aid corridor in Israel-Hamas war

By NINIEK KARMINI and EDNA TARIGAN
Associated Press

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Southeast Asian defense ministers have expressed “profound concern” over the loss of civilian lives in the Israel-Hamas war and called for an immediate truce and creation of a humanitarian corridor to deliver aid. In a statement on the conflict, the defense ministers from the Association of Southeast Asia Nations also supported the start of peace negotiations aimed at achieving a “two-state solution based on the pre-1967 borders.” They urged the U.N. Security Council to take a more active role in averting a wider humanitarian disaster. The defense ministers issued the statement after meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, with eight “dialogue partners,” including the United States, China and Russia.