BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Wednesday, 21 May 2013– The ASEAN Regional Forum Defence Officials’ Dialogue (ARF DOD) was held on 21 May 2013 at the Indera Samudra Grand Hall, The Empire Hotel and Country Club, Jerudong. The ARF DOD was chaired by Haji Adi Ihram bin Dato Paduka Haji Mahmud, Acting Director Defence Policy, Ministry of Defence, Brunei Darussalam. It was attended by senior officials from the ARF members.
The theme of the Dialogue was “The Impact of Social Media on Defence and Security.” The Dialogue acknowledged the benefits of the social media in terms of sharing information, creating awareness and engaging the public. However, the use of social media also created concern on abuse and disclosure of irrelevant and sensitive information and displays.
The Dialogue shared existing policies and practices of members on the use of social media in a professional capacity and personal use such as rules and guidelines, and how to respond speedily on misinformation and erroneous post or images that could disrepute the organisation’s or personnel image.
The Dialogue also discussed and exchanged views on best practices managing the misuse of social media by developing appropriate effective policies, guidelines, legal obligation, training and education.
The Dialogue was also briefed on the China’s 8th Defence White Paper – The Diversified Employment of China’s Armed Force and also on the project entitled “Next Steps to Multilateral Security Cooperation on Bio-Preparedness and Disaster Response”, under the ARF Work Plan on Counter-terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC).
The objectives of ARF DOD are to foster constructive dialogue and consultation on defence and security issues of common interest and concern, promote confidence-building and preventive diplomacy, and to enhance networking among defence officials in the region.
