By Priam Nepomuceno
MANILA – An interoperability exercise focused on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) is among the biggest gains of the just-concluded ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM)-Plus in Cebu, the Philippine defense chief said on Tuesday.
“I think the biggest gains there were not in the meeting, but what was reported in the meeting, which catalogued the year-long activities that were being done by the working groups and by the different armed forces and the different elements within the ASEAN. And for the first time, we conducted, ASEAN conducted, an interoperability exercise, which (focused) on HADR interoperability and other ground-based exercises,” Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said in an interview with ANC.
Teodoro was referring to Exercise Trident Resolve 2026, which took place from Sept. 20 to 26, 2026 in Banten, Indonesia, and focused on HADR, military medicine and cyber security.
It is considered the largest ADMM-Plus exercise in 10 years, with around 2,200 participating personnel from 11 ASEAN member states and eight dialogue partners, along with observer nations and civilian agencies.
Teodoro also cited the first joint cooperative activity spearheaded by the (ASEAN-Plus) Experts Working Group on Maritime Security in Subic, Zambales on Sept. 13, attended the naval crafts from the Philippines, U.S., Australia, Japan, New Zealand, India, Singapore and Brunei.
“For 20 years since it started, this is already big progress for a consensus-based organization,” he said.
“Now, the major focus really is realizing that the defense challenges and security challenges become more volatile and unpredictable,” Teodoro said.
The DND chief said the engagement parameters by ASEAN and ASEAN Plus has to be more dynamic and not cantoned within the traditional military or defense spheres because of “hybrid threats” such as the so-called “information threats”.
Hybrid threats are defined as “coordinated, harmful activities that combine military and non-military, overt and covert methods” that destabilize a state or institution.
Good housekeeping
Meanwhile, asked to comment on advisories issued by the governments of Japan, United Kingdom and the United States for their citizens to stock up on food and other essential items good for at least three days, Teodoro said it is just good housekeeping.
“It is a matter of good housekeeping. Talagang kailangan may reserba ka na pagkain (It is really important to have a reserve stock of food),” he said in a separate interview in DZMM.
The DND chief added that extra food, along with batteries, are vital, in case of strong typhoons or flooding, that could trap everyone in their homes.
He also said that it is vital to have emergency supplies at hand. (PNA)
