MANILA, Tuesday 17 June 2014 - The 7th Joint Defence Working Committee (JDWC) Meeting between Republic of the Philippines and Brunei Darussalam was held today at the Department of National Defense Building.
The Meeting was co-chaired by Undersecretary for Defense Policy, Department of National Defense, Republic of the Philippines, Pio Lorenzo F. Batino and the Permanent Secretary (Defence Policy and Development) of the Ministry of Defence, Brunei Darussalam, Colonel (Rtd) Pengiran Dato Paduka Haji Azmansham bin Pengiran Mohamad.
Also in attendance at the meeting were senior officials from the Department of National Defense and Armed Forces of the Philippines, as well as a representative from the Office of Presidential Adviser on Peace Process. Meanwhile, from Brunei Darussalam’s side, the delegates comprised the officials from Ministry of Defence and Royal Brunei Armed Forces, and Attorney General Chamber.
At the meeting, both sides reaffirmed their commitments to strengthen further their defence ties. A range of bilateral matters was discussed, including bilateral exercise, courses and training, and intelligence exchanges. During the exchange of views, both Brunei Darussalam and the Philippines gave their overview and assessments on the regional security outlook. Brunei Darussalam also gave presentation on the regional defence cooperation within the ambit of ADMM and ADMM-Plus framework, while the Philippines updated the meeting on the peace process in Mindanao.
The Philippine and Brunei Darussalam delegates at JDWC meeting also held exploratory talks on Status of Visiting Forces Agreement. Colonel (Rtd) Pengiran Dato Haji Azmansham also paid a courtesy call to the Secretary of National Defense, His Excellency Voltaire T. Gazmin.
The JDWC between Brunei Darussalam and Republic of the Philippines was established through the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Defence Cooperation between the Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam and the Government of the Philippines signed on 22 August 2001. The MoU serves as a framework for fostering closer defence relations and cooperation between the defence establishments and armed forces of both countries, such as military training, military exercises exchange of information on matters pertaining to security, training and defence products, and exchange of visits between the respective defence and military officials.
The next JDWC Meeting is to be held in Brunei Darussalam slated tentatively at the last quarter of 2015.