The Philippine military said cyber defense will be included and treated as a “common fixture” in future military exercises.
The announcement comes as Manila ramps up its investment in cybersecurity amid rapidly-evolving threats.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of Exercise Ajex Dagitpa, spokesperson Col. Michael Logico stressed the importance of cyber defense in military operations.
“When we talk about physical domains, we are talking about the ground, maritime domains, but what is not often talked about is [the] non-physical domains like cyber domains [and] the information subsystems,” he said.
Logico further noted that the non-physical domains have effects on physical domains.
Modernizing Cyber Capabilities
Last month, Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said the country will launch a new cyber command to ensure that the nation is safe from malicious actors in cyberspace.
It will reportedly integrate information technology experts and follow a less strict recruitment process to attract more recruits.
Furthermore, Manila has partnered with Denmark to “put premium in countering disinformation and in proactively addressing threats in the information ecosystem.”
The Philippines has seen increased attacks on cyber infrastructure, including an incident in October when the websites of the House of Representatives and the Senate were apparently under cyber attack.
