BEIJING - China on Thursday called for more practical cooperation among Southeast Asian countries and their neighbors in the fields of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

A senior Chinese military officer said Southeast Asian countries and their neighbors should enhance cooperation in disaster relief efforts and improve efficiency, adding that these efforts shall not interfere in other countries' internal affairs.

General Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of the general staff of the People's Liberation Army, made the remarks at the first expert working group meeting under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus, which was inaugurated last year as a platform for regional security dialogue and consultation.