Philippines hosts peer review exercise on export controls

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines hosted with Singapore the first-ever regional peer review exercise on export controls in Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

The regional peer review was hosted through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) under the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1540 through a tabletop exercise in Manila last Tuesday and Wednesday.

Japan, represented by its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, served as an observer to the exercise.

Considered as a milestone in UNSCR 1540 implementation, Amanda Cowl, United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) 1540 regional coordinator for Asia, pointed out that the exercise has generated interest among Indo-Pacific states, donor countries and international stakeholders, with the resulting conversations in the two-day workshop having a “rippling effect” in the region.

The exercise compared UNSCR 1540 implementation between the Philippines and Singapore, presented by experts from both countries’ border security and export control authorities and moderated by UNODA.