Senior military leaders from 27 Asia-Pacific countries are meeting this week in Hawaii for talks dealing with issues raised by a growing dispute in the South China Sea.The U.S. Defense Department is hosting the annual conference, which began Monday and runs through Thursday. It said Australia, Japan and South Korea are among the 27 nations attending.The Pentagon said the theme of this year's conference is "multilateral approaches to maritime security in the Asia-Pacific." Officials routinely refer to the dispute over competing claims in the South China Sea as a maritime security issue.