Army chiefs of 18 countries including the United States met in India Tuesday to discuss threats facing the Asia-Pacific region, in the face of concern at an increasingly assertive China. US army chief Randy George said the region was "critically important", speaking to reporters alongside his Indian counterpart Manoj Pande. "As we do these things, and we do them together we deepen our unity and collective commitment and that is how together we maintain a free and open Indo Pacific," he said. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES