Defense ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states will meet with U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter in Hawaii later this month for an informal dialogue co-hosted by Laos to discuss common interests and regional security, U.S. Pacific Command said.

As part of the strategic rebalance to the Indo-Asia-Pacific, the United States has increased engagement with regional institutions like ASEAN — including sending its first dedicated ambassador to ASEAN, the Hawaii-based command said.

“Southeast Asia lies at the heart of the Indo-Asia-Pacific region, which is diplomatically, economically, and strategically central to U.S. interests in the 21st century,” U.S. Pacific Command said in a release. “The United States and ASEAN share a strong and enduring interest in building and sustaining a rules-based international order in the Indo-Asia-Pacific.”

The 11th East Asia Summit was held last week in Vientiane, Laos, and was attended by heads of state from the 10-member ASEAN nations as well as officials from the United States, Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and Russia.

President Barack Obama led the U.S. delegation to the U.S.-ASEAN Summit, becoming the first U.S. president to visit Laos. Mindful of its involvement in Laos during the Vietnam War, the United States said it was committing $90 million over three years to conduct a comprehensive unexploded ordnance survey and for continued clearing operations.

Laos Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith said in a statement after the summit that the group “reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security and freedom of navigation in and overflight in the South China Sea.”

Philippines media said Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana would travel to Hawaii to continue discussions of security in the South China Sea, where China has made sweeping territorial claims.