Officials and delegates from the Department of National Defense (DND) participated in the 2024 ASEAN Defense Senior Officials’ Meeting (ADSOM) and ADSOM-Plus, which was chaired by Lao PDR on September 25-26, 2024.
DND Spokesperson Arsenio Andolong stated that Undersecretary for Strategic Assessment and Planning Ignacio B. Madriaga led the DND delegation at the event, which had the theme, “ASEAN: Together for Peace, Security, and Resilience.”
The ADSOM and ADSOM-Plus underscored the commitment to pursue greater cooperation amid an evolving regional security architecture characterized by increasingly complex and unpredictable challenges.
During the ADSOM, the ten ASEAN Member States discussed the progress of defense and military cooperation under the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) and related military meetings.
They also deliberated on outcome documents and new initiatives for adoption or approval at the 18th ADMM scheduled for November 2024.
Among these initiatives is a protocol co-authored by the Philippines, Lao PDR, and Singapore, which aims to create further opportunities for external partners to contribute to ADMM-Plus’ capacity-building through the Experts’ Working Groups (EWGs) Observership Programme.
Undersecretary Madriaga also welcomed 14 students from ASEAN Member States to the 2nd English Language Course (ELC) hosted by the Department under the auspices of the ADMM-wide Education and Training Exchanges (AETE) initiative.
This course began on September 17 and will run until December 13, 2024.
The ADSOM-Plus provided an opportunity for the eighteen Member States to exchange views on regional and international security issues.
For his part, Undersecretary Madriaga expressed concern over the dire effects of challenges to the existing rules-based international order, which has long supported stability and prosperity in both the region and the world.
