Defense officials and military officers from Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries as well as China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) will discuss non-traditional security threats at a forum in China next week.

The second ASEAN Plus Three forum on non-traditional security threats, hosted by Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), will convene on Oct. 12 and 13 in Shijiazhuang, capital of the northern Hebei Province, according to a statement from China's Defense Ministry.

The forum would be a chance for the officials and representatives to exchange opinions on their experiences of armed forces construction, it said.

It would also help to enhance cooperation among ASEAN Plus Three countries to tackle non-traditional security threats.

China's PLA has held two ASEAN Plus Three symposiums on disaster relief by the armed forces in 2007 and 2008. The first ASEAN Plus Three forum on non-traditional security of armed forces was held in June 2009.