ASEAN navy chiefs conclude Cambodia meet

This year’s ASEAN Navy Chiefs’ Meeting formally ended in Siem Reap, Cambodia last Thursday focusing on the centrality of the region in its quest for better collaboration among the members.

The Philippine Navy (PN) along with counterparts from ASEAN member countries attended the meeting hosted by the Royal Cambodian Navy from 25 to 28 November. This year’s theme dwelt on “Enhancing Cooperation for Sustainable Security at Sea.”

Admiral Tea Vinh, Deputy Commander in Chief of Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, Commander of Royal Cambodian Navy and Secretary General of National Committee for Maritime Security chaired the meeting.

The Commander, Naval Education, Training and Doctrine Command, Rear Admiral Loumer Bernabe led the Philippine Navy delegation on behalf of the Flag Officer In Command, Philippine Navy, Vice Adm. Robert Empedrad.

The viewpoint exchanges of the ASEAN Chiefs of Navies emphasized on the centrality of ASEAN in its quest for a more collaborative, responsive, and integrated way to engage either through bilateral or multilateral, and, regional or global.

Rear Adm. Bernabe expressed PN’s viewpoint which advocates for an ASEAN-centered “shared ocean governance” that entails multi-sectoral cooperation, relies on common policy instruments, and makes use of regional mechanisms that shall foster greater collaboration among ASEAN navies.

This may be achieved through the development of a comprehensive maritime domain awareness in Southeast Asia by networking various maritime coordinating centers, and the operationalization of ASEAN Maritime Task Force that shall oversee the collective efforts of the security dimension of ocean governance.