The Department of National Defense (DND) urged member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to resist efforts that portray Southeast Asia as a hotspot of rivalry between powerhouse countries.
Defense Undersecretary Irineo Espino made the call during the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) Retreat in Luang Prabang, Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) last week.
The ADMM is the highest defense consultative and cooperative mechanism in ASEAN. The ADMM Retreat is a platform which facilitates informal and open discussions on strategic issues concerning the ADMM and the region.
"Senior Undersecretary Espino called for ASEAN to remain resolute in rejecting attempts to portray the region as a mere arena of major power rivalry. He also provided recommendations to guide ASEAN as member-states ponder on the future of ADMM and ADMM-Plus," Defense spokesperson Director Arsenio Andolong said on Tuesday, March 12.
Espino represented Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. in the gathering of top defense chiefs in Southeast Asia. The meeting was attended by ASEAN member-states Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam along with Timor-Leste as an observer.
The meeting was conducted amid heating tension in the South China Sea where several ASEAN member-states, including the Philippines, are forced to play a balancing act due to the power rivalry between the United States and China.
According to Andolong, the ADMM Retreat provided an opportunity for the participants to highlight the accomplishments of the ADMM in fostering collective efforts to address current and emerging regional threats which contributed to regional peace, security, and resilience in line with the full implementation of the ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC) Blueprint 2025.
The APSC Blueprint consolidates decades-worth of ASEAN political-security cooperation which aims to ensure that the people and member-states of ASEAN "live in peace with one another and with the world at large in a just, democratic, and harmonious environment."
The defense ministers also reaffirmed their commitment to the "ASEAN Community Vision 2025" which aims to to realize a rules-based, people-oriented, and people-centered ASEAN with enhanced capacity to respond effectively to challenges.
"The meeting saw the adoption of the Joint Statement by the ASEAN Defense Ministers on the ADMM’s Accomplishments in the Implementation of the APSC Blueprint 2025," Andolong said.
On the sidelines of the event, Espino met with General Chansamone Chanyalath, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Lao PDR; and Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong, Chief of General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army and concurrent Vice Minister of National Defense of Vietnam.
The two generals reaffirmed their commitment to enhance defense partnership with the Philippines in both bilateral and multilateral levels, Andolong shared.