The National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP) participated in the virtual Track II Network of ASEAN Defence and Security Institutions (NADI) Workshop with the theme “ASEAN Strategic Equilibrium with Major Powers amid Changing World Order”. The Strategic Studies Center, National Defence Studies Institute (SSC-NDSI), Thailand hosted the Workshop on 21-22 June 2023.

Participants of the two-day workshop discussed various defense and security issues affecting ASEAN member states and recommendations on how to deal with such. They tackled issues and challenges in the context of geopolitics and the need to assert ASEAN Centrality and relevance.

The Head of NDCP’s Research Publication and Production Section (RPPS), Ms Arielle Ann Nicole Lopez, presented a paper entitled “ASEAN and the Great Power Competition”. She discussed the different challenges and opportunities for ASEAN in relation to global economic and geopolitical shifts. She also put forward recommendations on how ASEAN could manage such challenges and stay relevant as a grouping. The other members of NDCP’s Research and Special Studies Division (RSSD) also joined Ms Lopez as the College’s delegates to the said NADI Workshop.

In his closing remarks, Mr Manmar Francisco, the Acting Chief of RSSD and concurrently NDCP’s Public Information Officer (PIO), expressed his gratitude to SSC-NDSI Thailand for hosting the event. He also underscored the importance of NADI to NDCP’s international defense and security engagement.

NADI, which was established in 2007, aims to promote dialogue and build familiarity among ASEAN Member States’ think tanks and research institutions. It is a platform for sharing policy analysis focusing on defense and security issues. NADI offers a venue for ideas and proposals that may be deemed too sensitive to be formally tabled at an official Track I meeting.