MANILA, May 14 (Xinhua) -- The military chiefs from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) started arriving in Manila Sunday to attend conferences to strengthen cooperation among ASEAN militaries in addressing common security challenges facing the region.
Col. Edgard Arevalo, chief of the public affairs office of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), said in a statement that the military chiefs from the 10 ASEAN nations will attend the ASEAN Chief of Defense Forces Informal Meeting (ACDFIM) and related meetings that will run from May 15 to May 19.
He said regional issues such as maritime security, humanitarian assistance and disaster response, counter-terrorism, infectious disease management and peacekeeping will stay high in the agenda of the meeting.
He said Gen. Eduardo Ano, the AFP chief of staff, will chair the five-day meetings.
Read the full story at Xinhua