Who’s who at the annual Indo-Pacific Chiefs of Defense conference

August 31, 2026
David Pugliese

Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jennie Carignan (shown here, right) and the Commander of U.S. Pacific Command, Admiral Samuel J. Paparo, will preside over the conference in Victoria, B.C.

(Photo: U.S. Department of Defense)

The 28th annual Indo-Pacific Chiefs of Defense (CHODs) has started and will run from Aug. 31 until Sept. 2, 2026, in Victoria, BC.

I wrote an article on the conference that ran in the Aug. 31 edition of the Ottawa Citizen: Canadian Forces co-hosts major military conference with U.S. in midst of trade war.

Thirty-two senior military leaders are expected to attend the conference, representing the nations or multi-national organizations listed below. Of course, there could be some last-minute changes to the list. But for now, those listed as attending include:

Australia: Admiral Mark Hammond, Chief of the Defence Force

Bangladesh: Lieutenant-General Mir Mushfiqur Rahman, Principal Staff Officer of the Armed Forces Division

Brunei: Major General Dato Paduka Seri Haji Muhammad Haszaimi Bin Bol Hassan, Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces

Cambodia: General Vong Pisen, Chief of Defence

Canada: General Jennie Carignan, Chief of the Defence Staff (co-host)

Chile: General Leonardo Romanini Gutierrez, Chief of the Joint Staff

People’s Republic of China: General Yang Zhibin, Commander of the Eastern Theatre

Fiji: Major General Jone Logavatu Kalouniwai, Commander, Republic of Fiji Military Forces

France: General Fabien Mandon, Chief of the Defence Staff

India: General Raja Subramani, Chief of Defence Staff

Indonesia: Lieutenant General Bambang Trisnohadi, Chief of Staff – Territorial Affairs, Indonesian Armed Forces

Japan: Lieutenant General Norimichi Shirakawa, Vice-Chief of Staff, Joint Staff, Japan Self-Defense Forces

Republic of Korea: Lieutenant-General Kwon Dae Won, Vice-Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Republic of Korea

Malaysia: Lieutenant-General Fazal bin Haji Abdul Rahman, Director of Military Intelligence

Maldives: Major-General Ibrahim Hilmy, Chief of the Defence Force

Mexico: Vice-Admiral Marco Antonio Peyrot Solis, Deputy Chief of Operations, Secretariat of the Navy

Mongolia: Major-General Ganbyamba Sunrev, Chief of the General Staff

NATO: Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, Chair of the Military Committee

Nepal: General Ashok Raj Sigdel, Chief of the Army Staff

New Zealand: Air Marshal Tony Davies, Chief of the Defence Force

Peru: General César Agusto Brinceno Valdivia, Chief of the Peruvian Armed Forces Joint Command

Philippines: General Romeo S. Brawner Jr., Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of the Philippines

Singapore: Vice-Admiral Aaron Beng, Chief of the Defence Force

Sri Lanka: Air Vice Marshal (ret.) Sampath Thuyacontha, Secretary to the Minister of Defence

Thailand: General Ukris Boontanondha, Chief of Defence Forces, Royal Thai Armed Forces

Timor-Leste: Lieutenant General Falur Rate Laek, Chief of Defense

Tonga: Brigadier Lord Fielakepa, Chief of the Defence Staff

United Kingdom: Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, Chief of the Defence Staff

United States: General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Admiral Samuel J. Paparo, Commander, U.S. Pacific Command (co-host)

General Steven Nordhaus, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, United States National Guard

Vietnam: Lieutenant General Le Quang Dao, Deputy Chief of General Staff

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