The Philippine Embassy hosted a delegation from the Philippine Navy attending the Sixth ASEAN Navy Chiefs’ Meeting (ANCM6) held at The Empire Hotel and Country Club in Brunei Darussalam from 2-4 September 2012.

The delegation from the Philippine Navy was led by Vice Admiral Alexander P. Parma.

The two-day meeting, with the theme “Friendship at Sea for Regional Maritime Peace and Security,” promoted regional maritime security and stability through various initiative and confidence building measures.

The ANCM6 was chaired by First Admiral Dato Seri Pahlawan Haji Abdul Halim Haji Mohammed Hanifah, Commander of the Royal Brunei Navy (RBN).

A significant outcome of the meeting was the establishment of a host-nation secretariat as well as the establishment of an ANCM secretariat based at the Information Fusion Centre in Singapore.

The establishment of these institutions will help in enhancing cooperation amongst ASEAN navies in organizing naval interactions both at sea and ashore, which will contribute towards promoting stable defense relations and military-to-military interactions in the region.

The proposed ANCM secretariat will help to build the ongoing practical cooperation between ASEAN navies in addressing maritime issues to maintain security and stability in the region.

Previously known as the ASEAN Navies Interaction (ANI), the first meeting was held in 2001 and convened every two years.

The ASEAN Navy Chiefs Meeting (ANCM) replaced ANI starting from the fifth meeting held last year, which was hosted by the Vietnam Peoples’ Navy in Hanoi, Vietnam.

ANCM is now held annually and hosted on a voluntary basis among ASEAN member states. END