Vietnam supports application of International Humanitarian Law to cyber warfare

At the conference. Photo: mod.gov.vn

The Ministry of National Defence partnered with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to hold a virtual symposium themed “Cyber Warfare and International Humanitarian Law: Implications for Regional Security in the Context of COVID-19” on November 2.

The event saw the presence of representatives from member states of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) which gathers 10 ASEAN nations and its eight dialogue partners – Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Russia, and the US.

It offered a platform for participants to discuss and explore fundamental provisions of the International Humanitarian Law relating to cyber warfares, and aimed to enhance capacity building for the participating countries, contributing to the maintenance of the regional cyber security.

Hosting the conference, the Vietnamese side expected to exchange views and experience in exercising the International Humanitarian Law related to cyber warfare so as to effectively advise higher level authorities in crafting plans for the implementation of the international law in line with the Vietnamese laws and international conventions.

In his remarks, Major General Tong Viet Trung, Deputy Commander of Cyberspace Operation Command (Command 86), said as the Chair of the ADMM and ADMM-Plus this year, the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence has made every effort to effectively maintain the defence cooperation process on cyber security within the ADMM-Plus via virtual meetings amid COVID-19

Together with other ASEAN member states, Vietnam has agreed that critical information technology (IT) infrastructure should be seen as national properties that form a backbone of the most important functions, services and operations in the society, Trung said.

Vietnam has focused on strengthening cybersecurity potential for the protection of the critical IT infrastructure through intensive training and capacity building for specialised cybersecurity forces, accelerating experience sharing and international cooperation in responding to attacks to such infrastructure, he added.

Vietnam also shares the same views with ICRC in applying the International Humanitarian Law in all kinds of conflicts, including cyber warfare. The Vietnamese MND commits to actively and responsibly taking part in ASEAN’s defense cooperation mechanisms in the field of cyber security to prevent cyber attacks, violations of national sovereignty of countries on the cyberspace, and cyber warfare.

Minh Anh