TOKYO, July 18. /TASS/. A series of events leading up to the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting has opened in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, which currently holds the rotating chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

In addition to the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting, scheduled for July 21, Manila will host talks with ASEAN's dialogue partners, including Russia, China and the United States, a meeting of the foreign ministers of the East Asia Summit participating countries, and other events through July 24.

Participants will also mark the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, signed in Bali in 1976, the cornerstone document governing relations between ASEAN and its dialogue partners.

According to Dax Imperial, the Philippine Foreign Ministry's ASEAN affairs spokesperson, the agenda will also include regional issues and energy security, including ratification of the ASEAN Petroleum Security Agreement.

The Philippines expects to welcome Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as well as the foreign ministers of several other countries, including Japan, India and New Zealand, and representatives of the European Union.

ASEAN was established in 1967. Its 11 members are Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.