LANGKAWI, MALAYSIA, March 16 -- Defense ministers from the 10 nations of the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) agreed here Monday to cooperate in tackling the grave security threat from the Islamic State (IS).

At the end of the two-day 9th ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting, the ministers signed a joint declaration on maintaining regional security and stability.

At a press conference, Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, who chaired the meeting, said all the ASEAN defense ministers took note of the threat of the IS and its growing influence and lingkages across the globe.

He said the defense ministers shared opinions that the root causes of IS issue should be identified and the public should be educated to create more awareness.

The ASEAN defense ministers also discussed several important proposals, such as the formation of ASEAN Militaries Ready Group on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, the establishment of the ASEAN Center of Military Medicine, he added.