China to Send Defence Attaché to ASEAN Meeting in Cebu

China will be represented at this week’s ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus in Cebu, in the Philippines, by the defence attaché from its embassy in Manila, the Chinese defence ministry confirmed on Tuesday, October 27. The announcement confirms Beijing’s participation in the regional security forum, which brings Southeast Asian nations together with eight partner countries.

FAKTA

• Event: 13th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus)
• Venue: Mactan Expo Center, Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, Philippines
• Ministerial sessions: October 28–29, 2026; related activities run October 27–30
• China’s representative: the defence attaché at the Chinese embassy in the Philippines
• Participants: 11 ASEAN member states and 8 dialogue partners
• Chair: the Philippines, which hands the chairmanship to Singapore in 2027

A seat at the region’s top defence table

The ADMM-Plus is the highest defence consultative forum in the ASEAN framework. It was first convened in Hanoi in 2010, and defence ministers have met under the format every year since 2017. The forum allows the 11 ASEAN members — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam — to sit down with eight dialogue partners: Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea and the United States.

According to the Chinese defence ministry, its representative will exchange views with other participants on upholding dialogue and enhancing mutual understanding and trust, and will reiterate Beijing’s firm support for ASEAN centrality — the principle that ASEAN itself stays at the centre of regional cooperation and security discussions.

Ministers converge on Cebu

The Philippines chairs this year’s meetings, with Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. presiding. Manila has said its priorities include regional peace and stability, respect for international law including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, maritime security, and stronger coordination during natural disasters.

Other delegations are also gathering in Cebu. Singapore’s Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing will be in the city from October 27 to 30, attending the 20th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting on October 28 and the 13th ADMM-Plus on October 29, alongside informal meetings with his American and Japanese counterparts and the chairmanship handover ceremony. India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is leading his country’s delegation on October 28 and 29, where he will address the forum on regional and international security issues and hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines.

Why Beijing’s presence matters

The ADMM-Plus is one of the few forums where all of the region’s major powers meet under an ASEAN-chaired agenda, and where practical defence cooperation is discussed through expert working groups between the annual ministerial sessions. China’s decision to attend through its Manila embassy keeps Beijing inside that conversation as regional governments look to dialogue to manage shared security concerns.

What the meeting produces will be seen in the joint declaration the ministers adopt and in the working groups’ progress. For now, the gathering itself is the signal: defence chiefs from across Asia and beyond are in the same hall in Cebu. More international coverage is available on Watan News International.