General Andres Centino, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), has renewed the country’s commitment to work with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in ensuring the peace and security in the region.
In a statement on Monday, April 4, Centino highlighted the importance of having a solid cooperation, mutual trust, and unity of the armed forces among the ASEAN members to collectively fight security threats and emerging challenges.
Relatedly, Centino attended the 19th ASEAN Chiefs of Defence Forces Meeting (ACDFM-19) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia last month where he met and discussed security cooperation with other military chiefs of ASEAN countries.
“The ACDFM is a meeting of Chiefs of Defense of ASEAN member countries that serves as a venue to strategically and comprehensively discuss and assess prominent issues of mutual interests related to common security challenges,” said Colonel Jorry Baclor, head of AFP public affairs office.
“It is also a venue for discussions on concerns raised during the ASEAN Summit and the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting (ADMM),” he added.
This year's meeting was hosted by the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF), with its Commander-in-Chief, General Vong Pisen, as the Chairman.
The theme for this year’s meeting was “Solidarity through harmonized security” which aims to enhance military cooperation among ASEAN member states towards a peaceful, stable, prosperous, and harmonious South East Asian region.
“Among the productive outcomes of the ACDFM-19 was the signing of the ACDFM-19 Joint Statement. It reflects the agreed statements that promote solidarity through harmonized security among all ASEAN member states,” Baclor shared.
On the sidelines of the ACDFM-19, Centino conducted bilateral meetings with the Head of Delegations of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
Before the culmination of the ACDFM-19, General Vong Pisen, of RCAF, handed over the Chairmanship of the ACDFM to the Head of Delegation of Indonesia who will host the ACDFM-20 in Jakarta in 2023.