Leaders of 23 West Pacific navies meeting in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — Top navy officials from 23 countries in the Western Pacific region are in town for a workshop aimed at further exploring ways on effective ocean governance and regional partnership.

Hosted by the Philippine Navy (PN), the Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS) started yesterday and will end tomorrow.

It is being participated in by Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Fiji, France, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pakistan, Peru, Singapore, Thailand, the US and Vietnam.

The WPNS is biennial meeting of navy forces bordering the Western Pacific region.

PN flag-officer-in-command Rear Adm. Giovanni Carlo Bacordo led the opening ceremony at the Rizal Ballroom of Makati Shangri-La Hotel.

Bacordo  was joined by PN chief of naval staff Rear Adm. Rey dela Cruz, presiding officer of this year’s WPNS workshop.  

Bacordo described the WPNS as a promising platform aimed at enhancing cooperation and establishing maritime security initiatives among the navies.

The workshop serves as venue for the preparation and discussion of issues relevant to the symposium proper to be attended by the navy chiefs of participating countries.  

Dela Cruz cited the significance of WPNS 2020, which carried the theme “Effective Ocean Governance for Regional Partnership and Stability,” in the evolving geopolitics of the maritime region as well as in the increasing complexity of existing challenges associated with it.