New threats in cyber, space and sea require fresh rules, say New Zealand, France and Finland

The evolving nature of warfare, including challenges in cyberspace, outer space, and undersea infrastructure, demands that countries work together to set new rules and coordinate their responses, said defence ministers from New Zealand, France, and Finland at the Shangri-La Dialogue on May 31.

- Hariz Baharudin

Speaking during a plenary session on these frontier domains, the ministers said these areas are increasingly contested and blurred between military and civilian uses, making them vulnerable to misuse.

They emphasised how closer cooperation and updated rules are more crucial than ever, to ensure that those who do not respect international norms cannot destabilise regional and global security.

New Zealand's Minister of Defence Judith Collins noted that cyber intrusions are now "an ever-present threat", and that, like for many other countries, its growing connectivity in devices and networks and the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) have made defence of its cyberspace more complex.

The response to increasing contestation in the space, cyberspace, and undersea domains has to be centred on an effective and robust system of international agreements, rules, and norms of behaviour, said Ms Collins.

On its own, New Zealand has made it a point to identify perpetrators behind major attacks on its cyberspace wherever possible, so that there is greater transparency and accountability on who is behind such attacks, she added.