The National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP) welcomed Capt Alastair Cooper, Director of the Sea Power Centre – Australia (SPC-A), during his courtesy call to LtGen Ferdinand M Cartujano PAF(Ret), President of the NDCP, on 26 October 2022.

The visit focused on the Philippine Seapower Initiative (PSI), a project of the Philippine Center of Excellence in Defense, Development, and Security (PCEDS). The PSI is a one-year project that aims to contribute to the development of a maritime security strategy white paper for the defense sector. Through this project, the NDCP tries to seize the opportunity in supporting the promotion of a maritime-oriented defense and security approach and contribute to the bureaucracy’s strategic foresight.

One of the activities of the PSI is the regional stakeholder consultation which will examine the state of maritime security in Asia-Pacific in the last 10 years and anticipate trends and changes in the maritime domain in the next 10 years. This activity falls under the Australia-Philippine Defense Engagement Plan (DEP) 2022-2023.

Capt Cooper was joined by Col Paul Barta, Defense Attaché of Australia and Ms Ruchira Kakkad from the Australian Embassy. Also present in the meeting were Mr Rej C Torrecampo, Associate Professor I and Director of PCEDS, and Ms Alyssa Joy L Ibarra, Head of the Center’s Engagements and Partnerships Section.