Proposal

APrIGF 2024 Session Proposal Submission Form
Part 1 - Lead Organizer
Contact Person
Prof. Yachi Chiang
Email
Organization / Affiliation (Please state "Individual" if appropriate) *
National Taiwan Ocean University
Designation
Professor
Gender
Female
Economy of Residence
Taiwan
Primary Stakeholder Group
Academia
List Your Organizing Partners (if any)
Charles Mok, Global Digital Policy Incubator, Cyber Policy Center, Stanford University, <cpmok@stanford.edu>.
Part 2 - Session Proposal
Session Title
Strengthening the Digital Resilience of Taiwan : with Special Reference to Undersea Cables
Session Format
Panel Discussion (60 minutes)
Where do you plan to organize your session?
Online only (with onsite facilitator who will help with questions or comments from the floor)
Specific Issues for Discussion
At present, 300 submarine cables worldwide bear 99% of the global data traffic. In other words, any disruption to these cables would result in a global network outage. Particularly for Taiwan, surrounded by seas on all sides, its external transportation and trade heavily rely on maritime areas, making submarine cables the lifeline connecting Taiwan to the world.Although the objective data suggests the paramount importance of submarine cables, people tend to ignore the significance of these cables when they lie silently at the bottom of deep sea. It is sometimes frightening to think of how easily we forget their inherent fragility and constant susceptibility to risks.

Whether viewed from the micro perspective of individual digital lives or the macro perspective of Taiwan as a key node in the global network, the security of submarine cables is a fundamental test of digital resilience. It is not surprising that many reports from think tanks have repeatedly pointed out that in the event of a conflict across Taiwan Strait, submarine cables and landing stations are likely to be the primary targets of initial attacks.

Due to the crucial importance of this issue to Taiwan and the stability of Asia-Pacific region, I am writing this proposal for the committee's consideration : this panel is intended to have discussants from across Asian and Pacific countries , despite the theme topic is the undersea cable in Taiwan, the whole discussion would be put into a wider regional perspective. In short, if we consider the digital resilience of Taiwan as part of the foundation of the Asia-Pacific stability, it is necessary to examine the issue through a regional/international lense and that is the main purpose of this proposal.
Describe the Relevance of Your Session to APrIGF
this panel is intended to have discussants from across Asian and Pacific countries , despite the theme topic would be the undersea cable security of Taiwan, the whole discussion would be put into a wider regional perspective. In short, if we consider the digital resilience of Taiwan as part of the foundation of the Asia-Pacific stability, it is necessary to examine the issue through a regional/international lense and that is the main purpose of this proposal.
Methodology / Agenda (Please add rows by clicking "+" on the right)
Time frame (e.g. 5 minutes, 20 minutes, should add up to 60 minutes) Description
Moderator : 5minutes introduction
3 Discussant : 15X3=45minutes discussion
QA session: 10 minutes QA time
Moderators & Speakers Info (Please complete where possible)
  • Moderator (Primary)

    • Name: Yachi Chiang
    • Organization: National Taiwan Ocean University
    • Designation: Professor
    • Gender: Female
    • Economy / Country of Residence: Taiwan
    • Stakeholder Group: Academia
    • Expected Presence: Online
    • Status of Confirmation: Confirmed
    • Link of Bio (URL only): https://www.linkedin.com/in/christy-yachi-chiang-1a184257/
  • Speaker 1

    • Name: Charles Mok
    • Organization: Stanford University
    • Designation: Research Scholar
    • Gender: Male
    • Economy / Country of Residence: US
    • Stakeholder Group: Academia
    • Expected Presence: Online
    • Status of Confirmation: Confirmed
    • Link of Bio (URL only): https://cyber.fsi.stanford.edu/gdpi/gdpi-people
  • Speaker 2

    • Name: Lucio Blanco Pitlo III
    • Organization: Asia-Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation
    • Designation: Research Fellow
    • Gender: Male
    • Economy / Country of Residence: Philippines
    • Stakeholder Group: Civil Society
    • Expected Presence: Online
    • Status of Confirmation: Confirmed
    • Link of Bio (URL only): https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucio3pitlo/?originalSubdomain=ph
  • Speaker 3

    • Name: Speaker from Japan or Australia
    • Status of Confirmation: Proposed
Please explain the rationale for choosing each of the above contributors to the session.
Moderator Yachi Chiang: the editor and one of the authors of the booklet: Maritime Nation Digital Resilience Series - Submarine Cable Intrusions by the CCP: Highlighting the Strategic Security of Key Digital Infrastructure.
Speaker 1 Charles Mok: Internatoinally reknowned cyper policy expert who has links across government sector, technology communities and civil groups particularly in the Asia-Pacific resgion. .
Speaker 2 Lucio Blanco Pitlo III: foreign affairs and security analyst with deep grounding on the Asia-Pacific
Speaker 3: to be confirmed: ideally would be someone from Japan or Australia. I hope to have all the discussants confirmed by the end of April.
Please declare if you have any potential conflict of interest with the Program Committee 2024.
No
Are you or other session contributors planning to apply for the APrIGF Fellowship Program 2024?
No
Number of Attendees (Please fill in numbers)
    Gender Balance in Moderators/Speakers (Please fill in numbers)
      Consent
      I agree that my data can be submitted to forms.for.asia and processed by APrIGF organizers for the program selection of APrIGF 2024.