The members of the Master in National Security Administration (MNSA) Regular Class (RC) 57, divided into three groups, visited Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam on 18-22 July and 25-29 July 2022 for their Global Security and Development Studies (GSDS).

The first group, led by the NDCP President, Dr Archimedes H Viaje MNSA CESE, had engagements with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat, ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance Center, Permanent Mission of the Philippines to ASEAN, and the Philippine Embassy in Indonesia. The group also visited the Indonesian Ministry of Defense, PT PAL Indonesia, and the NDCP’s counterpart—Republic of Indonesia Defense University.

Headed by the NDCP Vice President for Academic Affairs, Prof Dr Jose Santos R Carandang VI MNSA, the second group had productive visits to the Philippine Embassy, UN Resident Coordinator, Royal Thai Submarine Fleet, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UN Disaster Risk Reduction Asia-Pacific Office, Defence Technology Institute, and the Defence Industry and Energy Centre.

Meanwhile, the NDCP Executive Vice President, Capt Aldrin C Cuña PN (Res) MNSA, led the third group in its visit to Vietnam. The delegation had official meetings with the Vietnam Maritime Administration, the Embassy of the Philippines in Hanoi, the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, as well as informal interactions with the Defense and Armed Forces Attaché community in Hanoi, the first in the history of GSDS at NDCP. The members of the delegation also immersed in the local community through socio-cultural visits and interactions with the local entrepreneurs in various commercial areas.

The three GSDS groups received briefings and engaged in substantive conversations with their hosts about domestic, regional, and global affairs, economic and health crisis, bilateral relations with the Philippines, maritime security, defense cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges.

This year’s GSDS is the first face-to-face foreign study tour of NDCP since the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020.

GSDS is an integral part of the MNSA program. It aims to enrich the learning experience of the MNSA students by providing opportunities for meaningful interactions with select institutions in target countries. The students are challenged to draw profound insights from their engagements and incorporate the same into their overall MNSA Program journey.