While the “problem” of the South China Sea may seem like an old one, it has in fact evolved rapidly. The recent “Belt and Road” Forum in Beijing has highlighted how China is rising as the fulcrum of growth and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific. However, its ambitious plans for New Silk Roads, as well as the dream for countries in our region for better infrastructure and stronger economies will be futile if we cannot rid ourselves of the suspicions and hostilities the on-going disputes have caused.
This brings me to my fourth point - governments are now increasingly finding themselves having to manage the seemingly uncontrolled spread of information and news, whether real or fake, facilitated by the rapid growth of information technology. The 24/7 news cycle has long been a reality: but the proliferation of multiple social media applications often means that we are dealing with several streams at once, often with vastly differing narratives.
How do we manage the flow? Especially of so-called “fake news” which for whatever reason certain groups of consumers seem to find so much more credible or attractive. Fake news, hate news, hacked news - we need to wrap our minds around it. Linked to this is the fact that the internet has also exposed countries to new threats. The alleged hacking of the 2016 US Presidential Elections is of course well-known. Recently, the apparent hacking of official websites in Qatar nearly caused a diplomatic incident after it was alleged that its Emir had criticized President Donald Trump, backed Iran and criticized the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. But such problems are often not malicious in nature: simply witness the travel nightmares caused by the recent British Airways IT glitch just last week.
This is in addition to the fact that extremists often use the internet to pursue their insidious agendas. There has also been a few cases of lone wolves having been radicalized or even workshopping attacks through “resources” available online. So while we are now becoming more dependent on the Internet of Things (IoT), it is also the source of constant and evolving dangers.
|
