Manila  - The Philippines has pledged to deploy 336 peacekeepers to help a United Nations mission in the Golan Heights in Syria, the country's defence secretary said Monday.

Defence Secretary Gilbert Teodoro made the commitment during a visit to the United Nations in New York last week.

"It is a great honour for the Philippines to be given the opportunity to participate in UN peacekeeping operations," he said upon arriving in Manila from his trip.

Teodoro said a 12-man advance party was scheduled to leave for the Golan Heights at the end of the month.

"The entire contingent is expected to be on the ground and take over the peacekeeping responsibilities of the Polish Battalion in the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) mission area before the end of October," he added.

More than 600 Filipino peacekeepers are currently serving in UN peacekeeping missions in in Afghanistan, Ivory Coast, Darfur, Haiti, Liberia, Sudan, East Timor and the Kashmir region.

Teodoro said the deployment to Syria is considered the Philippines' "biggest and most challenging mission since it took part in UN operations in East Timor almost a decade ago."

"The UNDOF is a big step forward for the Philippines and a mark of confidence in the country's ability to send larger units to support UN peacekeeping operations abroad," he said. (dpa)