PETALING JAYA: The 3rd Indo-Pacific Health Alliance for Security (IPHAS) Summit saw renewed defence partnership commitments between Malaysia and other participating countries, including the United States of America and Australia.
In a statement on Tuesday (June 9), the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) said the summit was held in Kuala Lumpur from June 7 to June 8 and was co-hosted with the Command Surgeon of the US Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) and the Surgeon General of the Australian Defence Force (ADF).
"Carrying the theme 'Civil-Military Collaboration for Whole-of-Society Resilience', the event strengthened defence cooperation with key national strategic agencies, including the Health Ministry, the National Security Council and the National Disaster Management Agency.
Overall, the summit brought together military leaders, civilian representatives and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from more than 21 countries.
"In his closing remarks, armed forces Health Services director-general Lt Gen Datuk Dr Zulkeffeli Mat Jusoh emphasised that health threats have now become a core element of national security with the potential to disrupt critical government functions, national stability and public well-being,” it said.
It added that IPHAS remained the only public health-military security framework operating across the Indo-Pacific region, with its main focus reflected through strategic discussions on Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) threats.
"This critical agenda was discussed extensively with the United States delegation led by the USINDOPACOM Command Surgeon, Capt Roberts, together with experts from the National Guard Bureau and the Washington National Guard.
"This edition of IPHAS outlined a clear objective to strengthen biological defence capabilities and enhance interoperability among cross-border security forces,” it said.
