ASOG, NDCP hold executive session on modern political warfare

On 5 October 2022, the Ateneo Policy Center (APC) of the Ateneo School of Government (ASOG) hosted the Executive Session on Modern Political Warfare in partnership with the National Defense College of the Philippines’ (NDCP) Philippine Center of Excellence in Defense, Development, and Security (PCEDS) at Pacifico Ortiz Hall, Ateneo de Manila University.

In his formal opening of the session, ASOG Dean Philip Arnold P. Tuaño, Ph.D. remarked that the event is a befitting successor of the similar roundtable discussion (RTD) held in August. He hopes the initiative will continue to be conducted frequently to facilitate viewpoint exchanges between foreign and Filipino subject matter experts (SMEs) on political warfare. The dean also wishes that the activity will enable ASOG and NDCP to forge a new partnership, opening the possibility of exploring other national security-related matters in the future.

The executive session invited foreign SMEs from Taiwan and the United States to discuss their experiences on modern political warfare, their countries’ tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), as well as their recommendations on how countries such as the Philippines can effectively respond against foreign interference and political war.

Among the salient points discussed are Taiwan’s countermeasures and policy revisions, the political warfare’s six vectors and how it touches the different dimensions of national security, civil society’s involvement in the new battlespace, and how militaries can effectively deal with foreign influence.

After a fruitful lecture, Prof. Rej C. Torrecampo, Associate Professor I and PCEDS Director, and RAdm Rommel Jude G. Ong PN (Ret), MDM, APC Senior Research Fellow and ASOG Professor of Praxis, moderated the plenary discussion, wherein the participants shared their thoughts on the matter. Some of the prominent comments are (1) the need to set right our structures and mindsets, (2) what concepts of security should be adopted, (3) how to involve other stakeholders and the masses vis-à-vis political warfare, (4) the necessity of crafting a strategy to counter political war, and (5) the challenge of getting out of one’s echo chamber and reaching out to broader groups with different perspectives.

The executive session officially closed with the closing remarks of LtGen Ferdinand M. Cartujano PAF(Ret), NDCP President, where he said the series of discussions on modern political warfare is one of the College’s courses of action to enhance the national government’s awareness on political warfare and know how to address the threats and challenges that come with it. The executive session, according to him, is very much in line with the Department of National Defense Officer-in-Charge’s (DND OIC) priority for the protection of the cognitive domain.

ASOG and NDCP invited local SMEs from the diplomatic and defense sector with extensive knowledge, experience, and publication on political warfare to participate and engage in the executive session.

NOTE: Participants in this activity do not officially represent their institutions or agencies.

Photo Source: NDCP-PCEDS