BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Sunday 2 November 2014 - A total of 26 countries will participate in the Chiefs of Defense Conference 2014 (CHOD 2014), co-hosted by both Royal Brunei Armed Forces and US Pacific Command.
With 16 countries led by the Chief of Defence Forces of their nations, and 10 countries being attended by their representatives, the Conference is scheduled to begin officially on 3 November until 6 November.
The 26 participating countries include Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, France, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Tonga, United Kingdom, United States of America and Vietnam.
Each arrival is welcomed by representatives from the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) at the Brunei International Airport today. Apart from that, an arrival took place today at the Royal Air Force Base, Rimba. This was the arrival of the Commander of US Pacific Command (USPACOM), Admiral Samuel J Loklear lll.
The Commander of the United States Pacific Command will hosts the Asia-Pacific Chiefs of Defense (CHOD) for a series of meetings and discussions on regional defense issues of mutual interest. Topics include, but are not limited to, common security challenges, fostering security cooperation. This forum encourages open dialogue intended to enhance mutual understanding of these and other related subjects. It also serves as an opportunity to build mil-to-mil relationships and promote regional security in a multilateral setting.
The CHOD Conference provides an opportunity to combine USPACOM AOR and selective seam Countries to collaborate and analyze issues impacting the regional strategies while enhancing security cooperation. The forum encourages multilateral discussions and candor through plenary sessions which are closed and “non-attributable”.