UAE must prepare itself for ‘unforeseen threats’: Expert
abu dhabi — The UAE is an island of stability and prosperity in a “very dangerous neighbourhood”. The country must thus be “ever vigilant” and innovative in how it prepares itself for threats, defence officials said on Tuesday.
During a Ministry of Defence (MoD) conference, which announced the ‘National Defence in an Era of Technological Innovation’ event that will take place on October 24-25, Dr Ismail Al Baloushi, senior adviser at the MoD, said innovation is a crucial aspect when it comes to facing threats.
“Innovation from a national security point of view is not just technology, artificial intelligence and robots, but it is also about how we innovate in terms of confronting threats, tactics, operation, doctrine.”
“There is the tangible innovation and then there is the intangible aspect and how we organise and train,” he added.
Dr Al Baloushi said that more than 700 experts from various aspects of the armed forces, from the UAE and around the world, will take part in the event, which will be held at the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR).
On the sidelines of Tuesday’s Press briefing, a defence official told Khaleej Times that the UAE must prepare itself for threats, even if they appear unforeseen.
He affirmed that although there “isn’t anything we are looking at currently that is setting off alarms”, the nation must still prepare to be rapid and agile in how it innovates technologies in order to maintain its stability and prosperity.
“What we are really concerned about is the character of the war and how war is conducted — it is changing,” the official said.
“When we look across the region and across the world at our allies, the US for example, we see how they prepare for threats.”
He pointed out that contemporary warfare is not what most people perceive it to be. “When we think about how wars are fought, for people in the West, they think of WWII for example, but wars are now ‘irregular’.”
He stressed that “irregular” wars can be a mixture of tanks, planes, and ships, as well as guerrilla warfare and insurgency.
“A lot of what you see in Syria is guerrilla warfare — they don’t wear identifiable uniforms — you are unsure which side they’re on and they’re not necessarily using the latest technology, yet they still cause great damage.”
He said that radical extremism is also part of the “mix” and the UAE is putting in immense efforts to overcome such kind of extremism and extremist ideologies, particularly those that are spread in the cyber world.
“This is part of the job at Minis- try of Defence, to monitor what is occurring and to ensure that we are prepared in the changed environment, to tackle any threat that does arise.”
The Ministry of Defence official said that the two-day event would, thus, heavily focus on technologies, operations, tactics, training, and education in the various aspects of national security.
The event will also bring in policymakers who will delve deeper into the various elements of national security innovation. Officials from the US, UK, and Saudi Arabia will also be taking part in the conference.
“The conference sends a message to our friends and allies, that we are not sitting still, we are not complacent. It is also a vehicle to inculcate in our officers the ways to adapt and innovate in order to address the threats we see.”
(Innovation) is also about how we innovate in terms of confronting threats, tactics, operation, doctrine.”
Dr Ismail Al Baloushi, senior adviser, Ministry of Defence