AKP Phnom Penh, October 20, 2026 --

H.E. Gen. Vong Pisen, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF), hosted a courtesy meeting on Tuesday with H.E. Lt. Gen. Antonio G. Nafarrete, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), during his official visit to the Kingdom of Cambodia.

During the meeting, H.E. Gen. Vong Pisen extended his congratulations to Gen. Nafarrete on his recent appointment as AFP Chief of Staff, noting that the promotion reflects strong recognition of his leadership and dedicated service to the defence of the Philippines.

The RCAF chief commended the steady progress in bilateral military relations, characterised by strong friendship, solidarity, and practical cooperation. He highlighted key areas of ongoing collaboration, including high-level exchange visits, human resource development, instructor deployments, and joint training exercises.

H.E. Gen. Vong Pisen expressed confidence that both armed forces will continue to expand cooperation across critical areas, including security, intelligence sharing, counter-terrorism, cross-border crime prevention, cybersecurity, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) operations.

As part of his official itinerary, Gen. Nafarrete is scheduled to visit members of the ASEAN Observer Team (AOT) currently carrying out their mission in Cambodia.

In response, Gen. Nafarrete praised the strong partnership between the two militaries, particularly the close cooperation between their respective ground forces.

The discussions reaffirmed the commitment of both Cambodia and the Philippines to strengthening defence ties and supporting regional ASEAN mechanisms to maintain peace, security, and stability across the region.

By K. Rithy Reak