On 5 October 2022, the Ateneo Policy Center (APC) of the Ateneo School of Government (ASOG) hosted the Executive Session on Modern Political Warfare in partnership with the National Defense College of the Philippines’ (NDCP) Philippine Center of Excellence in Defense, Development, and Security (PCEDS) at Pacifico Ortiz Hall, Ateneo de Manila University.

In his formal opening of the session, ASOG Dean Philip Arnold P. Tuaño, Ph.D. remarked that the event is a befitting successor of the similar roundtable discussion (RTD) held in August. He hopes the initiative will continue to be conducted frequently to facilitate viewpoint exchanges between foreign and Filipino subject matter experts (SMEs) on political warfare. The dean also wishes that the activity will enable ASOG and NDCP to forge a new partnership, opening the possibility of exploring other national security-related matters in the future.

The executive session invited foreign SMEs from Taiwan and the United States to discuss their experiences on modern political warfare, their countries’ tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), as well as their recommendations on how countries such as the Philippines can effectively respond against foreign interference and political war. Among the salient points discussed are Taiwan’s countermeasures and policy revisions, the political warfare’s six vectors and how it touches the different dimensions of national security, civil society’s involvement in the new battlespace, and how militaries can effectively deal with foreign influence.