ASEAN IN FOCUS

ASEAN launches Direct Communications Infrastructure, sets up hotline, for defense ministers

MANILA, Philippines (Eagle News) — Association of Southeast Asian Nations defense ministers launched on Tuesday, October 24, a direct communications infrastructure that will allow them to communicate rapidly and orderly in a secure hotline during emergencies. The launch was done at the 4th ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) in Clark, Pampanga which aims to promote good response operation within the regional community. During the launch, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, current chairman of the ASEAN Defense […]

Terrorism, illegal drugs discussed in President Duterte’s meeting with defense ministers of ASEAN, dialogue partners

Defense Ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and from ASEAN’s dialogue partners including United States Defense Secretary James Mattis, paid a courtesy call on President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, October 24. The President and the ministers discussed a wide range of issues from terrorism to illegal drugs. In his message during the meeting in Clark, Pampanga, the President expressed gratitude to the ministers for their participation in the 11th ASEAN Defense Ministers […]

UNICEF helps Rohingya children study in Bangladesh camps

COX’S BAZAAR, Bangladesh (Reuters) — The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) offers Rohingya children education opportunities in hundreds of schools set up within the refugee camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district. With 37 children in each class, educators teach Burmese, English and maths in the hopes the pupils are able secure a bright future and earn a living, a UNICEF spokesperson said on Tuesday (October 24) Nearly 340,000 Rohingya children are living in squalid conditions […]

China, ASEAN eyeing trust-building naval exercise: Singapore

(Agence France Presse) — China and Southeast Asian nations may hold a joint naval exercise next year to help build trust, Singapore’s defense minister said Tuesday, following years of acrimony over rival claims in the South China Sea. Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan on Tuesday attended a security forum hosted by the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations and pushed for the maritime drill, according to Singapore’s Ng Eng Hen. “This idea was openly floated […]

ASEAN Defense Chiefs sign joint declaration for regional security

https://youtu.be/tVz0J34EsSM   Defense ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) on Monday, October 23, signed a joint declaration during the 11th ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) in Clark, Pampanga reaffirming their common commitments and goals to promote defense cooperation “The joint declaration being signed embodies the collective sense of the ASEAN Defense Ministers on the Regional Security Environment. More importantly, it contains the ministers’ shared thrust and specific undertakings to address the security […]

US, ASEAN defense ministers discuss security cooperation in Philippines

https://youtu.be/Op0f2OSFvm4   Southeast Asian Defense Ministers and its dialogue partners, including the United States, continue the high-level security talks in Clark, Pampanga on Tuesday, October 24, focusing on security threats in the region. “With this, I am optimistic that we could broaden areas of cooperation to cover a wide array of defense and security issues, including terrorism and violent extremism, maritime security, cyber security, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and peacekeeping operations among others,” Sec. […]

Whole country on full alert for security preparations of ASEAN Summit

(Eagle News) — All of the security agencies of the country are already on full alert for the Association of South East Nations (ASEAN) Summit next month, National Organizing Committee for ASEAN Ambassador Marciano Paynor said. Lead agencies include the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Presidential Security Group (PSG), which will handle the security of the state leaders. Twenty-one world leaders are expected […]

Australia to train Philippines in urban warfare to combat spread of Islamic extremism

  SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia will train Filipino soldiers in urban warfare to combat the spread of the Islamic extremism after months of fierce fighting against militants in the country’s south, it was announced Tuesday. Canberra has been aiding Manila against local supporters of the Islamic State group in the southern city of Marawi since September, deploying two AP-3C Orion aircraft for surveillance while helping in information-gathering and analysis. Defense chiefs in the Philippines […]

Developing countries should work together for shared future: Filipino Military Chief

MANILA, Philippines (CCTV) — The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Eduardo Año, speaks highly of the idea of building a community of shared future for mankind stressed by Xi Jinping at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Año, who is attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defense Ministers’ Meeting in Clark Freeport on Monday, welcomed the ideas that Xi raised during the CPC […]

OPEC chief welcomes rebalancing of oil market

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — OPEC secretary general Mohammed Barkindo welcomed Thursday the rebalancing of the world oil market, hinting the cartel would likely renew its output-cutting deal next month. Barkindo made the comments at the annual Oil & Money conference in London, before the latest production meeting of the 14-nation Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in early November. “There is no doubt that the market is rebalancing at an accelerating pace — […]

President Duterte acknowledges S. China Sea dispute remains a “challenge” Asean has to face

(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday acknowledged that the South China sea row was one of the challenges the Association of Southeast Asian Nations was facing. Duterte, who spoke at the High Level Forum on ASEAN@50, said however, that “we are not in a hurry.” “And as a matter of fact, what we did was really the correct step and to avoid confrontational talks with almost all of the parties concerned, just ask […]

Senior foreign officials of ASEAN meet in Manila to prepare for 31st ASEAN Summit in November

  (Eagle News) – Senior foreign affairs officials of the Philippines and of the other members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) recently gathered in Manila to discuss preparations for the 31st ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings set this November. Philippine Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Enrique Manalo chaired the meetings, which will also consider the logistic preparations for the Summit. The ASEAN senior foreign officials gathered at the Philippine International Convention Center from […]