HANOI, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- The 42nd Pacific Armies Management Seminar, themed "Cooperation among Indo-Asian Pacific Land Forces in Humanitarian Assistance, Disaster Response," kicked off here on Monday.

Addressing the four-day seminar's opening ceremony, Pham Van Giang, chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army and Defense Deputy Minister, said joint work against common challenges will connect armies, laying a foundation for collaboration in various fields for the sake of regional peace, stability and development.

During the event, army officers from land forces in 27 Asian-Pacific countries, including Australia, Cambodia, China, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam are to discuss land forces' initial responses to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, multilateral cooperation, and promotion of regional cooperation role.