As Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025 drew to a close, chiefs of joint operations from Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom met for the inaugural Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) roundtable discussion.
First formed on November 1, 1971, the FPDA continues to contribute to combined and joint exercises, as well as training opportunities that focus on high-end conventional warfighting, while also being flexible in responding to a changing security landscape.
Chief of Joint Operations Vice Admiral Justin Jones highlighted the significance of the FPDA discussion, noting this was the first time the current chiefs of joint operations from the FPDA nations had been able to meet face to face.
"We have been able to talk candidly about the challenges we face, the future of the FPDA, exercises such as the Bersama series and what we want to achieve out of those exercises," Vice Admiral Jones said.
"It was a pleasure to host our FPDA partners being key relationships to maintaining our remit, relevance and reassurance to the region."
'FPDA is a highly successful multilateral arrangement that has stayed true to its intended purpose for over 50 years.'
During the discussion, Commander of Headquarters Integrated Area Defence System (HIADS) Air Vice Marshal Nathan Christie briefed the chiefs on key updates to HIADS, maintaining focus on enhancing conventional high-end warfare and building capabilities in maritime security, counter-terrorism, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR), and defensive cyber.
"FPDA is a highly successful multilateral arrangement that has stayed true to its intended purpose for over 50 years," Air Vice Marshal Christie said.
"Today's meeting between the five joint chiefs provided an opportunity to discuss how we can achieve contemporary training outcomes for each nation to ensure we stay relevant in the current strategic environment, whilst staying true to our original remit."
All five chiefs of joint operations reiterated their commitment to the FPDA and acknowledged the importance and significance of joint interoperability in supporting the defence of Malaysia and Singapore and the broader regional reassurance.
