MANILA, PHILIPPINES - The Department of National Defense, Republic of the Philippines hosted the 11th Combined Committee on Defense Cooperation (CCDC) Meeting for three days starting November 13 to 15, 2024 at Dusit Thani Hotel, Manila, Philippines. The CCDC meeting is a bilateral meeting between the Ministry of Defense of Malaysia and the Department of National Defense, Republic of the Philippines.

The meeting was held was aimed at discussing current issues related to the security of the Asian region. Among these are the concerns of the security situation in the South China Sea, strengthening cybersecurity cooperation and combating fake news, updates on the Mindanao peace process and bilateral defense cooperation updates from the perspective of military cooperation groups, information and defense exchange cooperation groups, science and industry cooperation groups. This meeting was chaired by His Excellency Mgen Angelito M De Leon (Ret) AFP, Undersecretary for capability Assessment and Development, Department of National Defense together with Mr Mohd Yani bin Daud, Deputy Chief Secretary of Defense (Basic). Also present were the Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations and Defense Training, Maj Gen Datuk Malek Razak bin Sulaiman and the Director of Defense Intelligence, Maj Gen Mohamad Fauzi bin Abdul Majid. Meanwhile, Lt Col Mohd Izani bin Abu Bakar as Chief of Inspectorate, Department of Religious Command of the Armed Forces (KAGAT) was also involved in presenting a topic on Promoting Spiritual Resilience and Ethical Leadership in the Armed Forces at the meeting. The CCDC meeting is a platform to report on the cooperation in the field of defense between Malaysia and the Philippines involving three committees namely Military Cooperation Working Group, Exchange of Information Working Group and Defense, Science and Industry Cooperation Working Group. During this meeting as well, both countries had the opportunity to exchange views on current issues in the Southeast Asian region. Besides that, the present delegation was also brought to visit cultural areas such as in Taman Luneta and the National Museum. Thereafter, conducted a courtesy call on the Secretary of National Defense of the Republic of the Philippines located at the Department of National Defense Building, Quezon City. The delegates also had the opportunity to visit the ARMSKOR Global Defense, Inc Facilities area to see how the country produces armament products with its own industrial capabilities. This cooperation is seen to have a positive impact in maintaining the bilateral relationship between the Ministry of National Defense of Malaysia and the Department of National Defense of the Republic of the Philippines.