PH, Brunei armies sign TOR on defense cooperation

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MANILA — The armies of the Philippines and Brunei signed on Wednesday the terms of reference that would implement the memorandum of understanding on defense cooperation between the neighboring countries.

Col. Patricio Ruben Amata, acting Philippine Army spokesperson, said signing the TOR were PA commander, Lt. Gen. Macairog Alberto, and Royal Brunei Land Forces (RBLF) chief, Brig. Gen. Dato Seri Pahlawan Awang Khairul Hamed Bin Awang Haji Lampoh, at the Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.

“We continue to improve our ties with international counterparts to establish a stronger regional security through cooperation. The Royal Brunei Land Forces as our partner is among our priorities when it comes to that,” Alberto said.

The signing of the TOR, which serves as the guideline as well as the rules of procedure for future activities between the PA and RBLF, would implement the MOU on defense cooperation the two countries signed on August 22, 2001.

“This is a historic visit and moment that will expand the relationship between our armies,” Khairul said.

The two armies intend to conduct working group meetings, training courses, bilateral trainings, exchange of visits, subject matter expert exchanges, and intelligence exchanges.

In previous years, the PA and RBLF was limited to student exchange programs for its personnel.

Brunei is among the ASEAN states in which the Philippines had an MOU on Defense Cooperation. Other Philippine defense partners include Australia, Canada, Russia, Spain, UK, Israel, and the US.