PATRIOT PARK /Moscow Region/, August 15. /TASS/. Russia will strengthen its military ties with countries in the Asia-Pacific region, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said, addressing the 11th Moscow Conference on International Security on Tuesday.

"We will further build military cooperation with the Asia-Pacific region, where India is one of our major partners <…>. We share the common experience of fighting against colonial rule with Vietnam, Myanmar, Mongolia, Laos, Indonesia and Bangladesh," Russia’s defense chief said.

According to Shoigu, attempts are being made to dismantle the ASEAN-centric security system in the Asia-Pacific region, with NATO’s confrontation practices being introduced there. "We can see a distinctive trend of establishing a NATO-like alliance, AUKUS, in the region," he said, adding that cooperation in nuclear military technology as its debut practical project was a concern.

In parallel, attempts are being made to destroy the existing effective mechanisms of military cooperation, the Russian defense minister said as he doubted that discussions currently underway on gender issues, climate change or the blue economy "can contribute to bringing the regional countries together to solve security issues."

The 11th Moscow Conference on International Security is taking place at the Patriot Congress and Exhibition Center on Tuesday, with defense officials and delegates from international organizations attending and military experts and diplomats from dozens of countries discussing common threats to global and regional security as well as security in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Europe.

In all, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, more than 800 delegates from 76 countries are taking part in the event, with no Western countries being on the list of guests.