Members of the Philippines National Defense delegation met with their Cambodian counterparts as the two countries signed a pact to pursue a stronger defense partnership in the 3rd Joint Defense Cooperation Committee (JDCC) Meeting in Phnom Penh.
Department of National Defense Acting Undersecretary Angelito De Leon co-chaired the JDCC meeting with Cambodia’s Minister Delegate Attached to the Prime Minister and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of National Defence, General Neang Phat.
De Leon and Phat signed the Terms of Reference of the committee, detailing the functions, procedures, and other arrangements for the JDCC assembly.
Both officials ensured their commitment to the 2017 Philippines-Cambodia Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation and highlighted the importance of JDCC as a high-level dialogue mechanism to strengthen defense and military partnerships.
The two countries exchanged views on the regional security challenges, as well as discussed updates on military operations that were postponed due to the pandemic, multilateral cooperation, especially under the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting, and bilateral cooperative activities; such as high-level visits, capacity-building assistance, and educational exchanges.
De Leon shared the DND’s 10-Point Defense Agenda, while General Neang Phat explained Cambodia’s 2022 Defence White Paper (DWP). The two
officials explained the significance and priorities and identified possible areas of cooperation between the Philippines and Cambodia.
De Leon also invited the Cambodian delegation to the Philippines for the 4th iteration of the JDCC meeting next year, while hailing and
expressing support for Cambodia’s hosting of the 32nd Southeast Asian Games that will start on Friday, May 5.
