GADONG, Thursday 5 March 2015 – The Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (SHHBIDSS) hosted the annual East Asia Security Outlook (EASO) seminar at the Songket Ballroom, The Rizqun International Hotel.
This year, six speakers from research institutions from Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and United States shared their views on non-traditional security issues and emerging challenges arising out from technological advances.
On developments in non-traditional security challenges in HADR and prospects for cooperation, Dr. Alistair Cook (RSIS, Singapore) shared the increasing cooperation trends in HADR among states at the global and regional level. He highlighted challenges faced by various stakeholders including in civil-military relations, and called for a more appropriate system of governance, coordination and cooperation. Mr. Solahudin Hartman (IPAC, Indonesia), shared experiences in terrorism in Indonesia. He highlighted that the decline of terrorism in Indonesia was due to the shift of terrorists’ focus from the region to the Middle East, particularly, with the growing interest of extremists joining groups like ISIS. On cyber security,
Lt Col (Rtd) Sazali Sukardi (CyberSecurity Malaysia) stated that cyberspace must be seen as the fourth dimension in security. There were a number of threats posed by cyber security such as increase of hacking activities on critical infrastructure and challenges to strengthen cooperation on an international level. Finally, Dr. Michael Raska (RSIS, Singapore), during the session on emerging challenges talked about the strategic implications of East Asian force modernisation priorities and emerging domains of ‘military rivalry’. Mr. James Hasik (Atlantic Council,US) focused on the implications of new disruptive technology and ways to manage it.
The event opened with a keynote speech by Dato Seri Laila Jasa Tan Sri Rastam Mohammad Isa, Chairman and Chief Executive of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia which sets the tone of the seminar. He shared that there was a different global strategic scenario unfolding with shifts of major power balance in the Asia Pacific, increasing complexity of non-traditional security issues effecting all countries as well as military expansion and modernisation in particular the impacts of such programmes to the overall security situation.
He observed that there was a growing awareness and urgency to address these non-traditional security environment especially with terrorism and cyber security. He further highlighted the advent of new capabilities brought by the social media revolution which brings about a new element into relations between states and bearing to the regional security. In conclusion, he saw the need for tactful and foresight cooperation.
This seminar is the only one of its kind in the country that brings together academics, officials and analysts looking at defence and security to interact at an informal setting as well as discuss crosscutting issues of defence and security.
Present at the seminar were members of the Defence Executive Committee, officers from various agencies, among them the Ministry of Defence, the Royal Brunei Armed Forces, the Royal Brunei Police Force, Prime Minister’s Office and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
