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Defence Officials and Experts Discuss Building Digital and Information Resilience at the Fourth Digital Defence Symposium
21 July 2026
The ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) Cybersecurity and Information Centre of Excellence (ACICE) and the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) are co-hosting the 4th Digital Defence Symposium (DDS) from 21 to 22 July 2026 at the Raffles City Convention Centre, Singapore.
The ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) Cybersecurity and Information Centre of Excellence (ACICE) and the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) are co-hosting the 4th Digital Defence Symposium (DDS) from 21 to 22 July 2026 at the Raffles City Convention Centre, Singapore. Under the theme "Building Digital and Information Resilience: Technology, Norms, and the Cyber Information Continuum", the symposium brings together more than 300 senior defence officials, academics, industry experts and international partners from 35 countries from ASEAN and beyond, to share and discuss the latest developments in the cybersecurity and information domains amid growing digital threats and an increasingly complex geopolitical environment.
Ambassador Ong Keng Yong, Executive Deputy Chairman of RSIS, delivered the opening remarks and welcomed participants to the symposium. He highlighted, “We need to cooperate across public and private sectors, across whole of society, and across nations, to build a holistic understanding of the complex issues of cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies. As a collective, we need to take a multi-disciplinary approach to strengthen our capabilities, and most importantly, build relationships that enable us to do things more effectively together.”
General (GEN) Sir Rob Magowan, Commander, Cyber and Specialist Operations Command, United Kingdom, delivered the keynote address at the symposium. In his address, GEN Magowan underscored the importance of sharing cyber threat information multilaterally and working closely and consistently together to combat diverse hybrid threats. He said, “The vital ground in our modern battlespace is data. To navigate it, we must adapt faster than our adversaries, in partnership with our allies and collaborate with industry as one team.”
Permanent Secretary for Defence Mr Joseph Leong hosted the ACICE official welcome dinner on 20 July. In his address, Mr Leong noted the shifts observed in the digital landscape and how digital tools are changing the nature of military operations and the need for defence establishments to come together. He said, "Technology is moving increasingly from just a tool, to an actor in its own right. The DDS must not just be a talk-shop – we want it to be a platform where militaries, defence officials, academia and industry come together to share challenges, ideate solutions and build trust.” He also reaffirmed Singapore's commitment to strengthening regional defence cooperation in the digital and information domains, including as ADMM Chair in 2027. He said, “As ADMM Chairman in 2027, Singapore will do its part. Singapore will work with ASEAN defence establishments on a consensus to collectively implement the 11 UN Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) Cyber Norms. Singapore will also host the inaugural ASEAN Regional Cyber Exercise[1] on the sidelines of the 5th DDS.”
Executive Director of ACICE Ms Yeo Seow Peng emphasised that "We are encouraged to see the progress for DDS year on year, and this reflects the growing importance of the cyber and information domains. Threats in these domains are borderless, which is why efforts to share information and uplift ASEAN’s capacity to deal with these threats are key to establishing regional digital security. Now, more than ever, is the time for ASEAN militaries to work together in an increasingly contested digital space.”
Several events are being organised on the sidelines of DDS 26. The 4th ASEAN Roundtable on Navigating the Digital Space and the 7th ACICE Experts Panel Meeting, will both take place on 22 July. The 5th ACICE Advisory Board Meeting will follow on 23 July.
Borne from an ADMM-led initiative, ACICE was established by the 15th ADMM in June 2021 to connect ASEAN countries and international partners in enhancing multilateral cooperation against cyberattacks, disinformation and misinformation. The DDS, one of ACICE's flagship initiatives, has grown steadily since its inaugural edition in 2023. Today, it stands as the only platform in the region that brings together ASEAN and key partner nations including Australia, China, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, the United Kingdom and the United States for substantive dialogue on cyber and information issues in the defence realm.
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[1] Co-organised by ACICE and the Digital and Intelligence Service, the ASEAN Regional Cyber Exercise is a hands-on technical military cyber defence exercise that will bring together military cyber teams across the region to strengthen cooperation.