| GSA 2015 will be Asia’s first ISIS-themed 2-day conference on “The New Asian Threat Landscape” |
Key military and security delegates from around the world will gather to attend Asia’s first ISIS-focused homeland security and counter-terrorism Conference and Exhibition, Global Security Asia (GSA) 2015, held at the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre from 3 to 5 March 2015.
“ISIS presents a credible and wide-reaching threat to global security, not just in the Middle East. ISIS ability to radicalise and militarise individuals anywhere in the world is growing. We want to assess the impact of the ISIS threat in Asia, including from chemical, biological and radiological attacks.” said Conference Chair Dr. Rohan Gunaratna, Professor of Security Studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies & Head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
Now in its 10th year, GSA 2015, now organised in partnership with MILIPOL, is behind Asia’s first ISIS-themed 2-day conference “The New Asian Threat Landscape”. The conference portion of the event will span 4 and 5 March, and will delineate the current and emerging Asian threat from ISIS and discuss state and societal responses. The rise of ISIS and the declaration of an Islamic State has presented a new global and Asian threat landscape, and the ongoing spread of ISIS ideology in Asia through well-planned use of technology and communications channels, including the Internet, means that the operational threat to the region has changed dramatically. The threat to Asia is no longer primarily from the resurgence of al Qaeda and its host Taliban in the Pakistan-Afghanistan theatre but the growing appeal of ISIS.
Conference Chair Dr. Rohan Gunaratna will open the conference with a keynote address and will lead into various focused series of talks over the two days such as Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) threats by Dr Chua Teck Mean, Group CEO of Gaia One International Pte Ltd, Lt. Gen. (Dr) J R Bhardwaj, former Director General of the Armed Forces Medical Services of India and Dr David Trudil, A Smallpox and Anthrax specialist and President of NHDetect (USA). There will also be sessions on ISIS’ online and social media activities by Remy Mahzam, Associate Research Fellow, International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research and Nur Azlin Mohamed Yasin, Counter Terrorism Analyst at RSIS. Other speakers also include Major General Dr Tito Karnavian, Former Commander, and Counter Terrorism Force, Indonesia and leading security and counter-terrorism practitioners and academics from the US, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore will map the evolving threat and share governmental and community strategies to contain and mitigate the ever evolving threats.
“This year’s ISIS-themed conference is a regional first and is of crucial importance" |
Topics of interest include:
- The Threat of Bio Terrorism
- A Strategic Ideological Response to Islamic State
- Intelligence Collection Before Operation, The Warning Signs of Terrorist Attack’s
- ISIS Social Media
- The Terrorist-Criminal Nexus in Cyberspace
“This year’s ISIS-themed conference is a regional first and is of crucial importance to all local and regional government and private security forces,” said Andrew Marriott, Managing Director of GSA Exhibitions Pte Ltd, the exhibition and conference organiser. “The *New Asian Threat Landscape* Conference allows us to examine the emerging ISIS threats and its influence in the region. This is undoubtedly a unique opportunity for all delegates to update themselves on the progress and threat from Islamic State which is currently destabilising huge swathes of the world and needs to be effectively contained in the local and regional context.”
In tandem with the conference is a public three-day exhibition opening on the 3rd March that presents opportunities for governments and security professionals to meet and interact with international manufacturers and resellers of security equipment, services and technology to discuss the latest solutions available to protect their borders, infrastructure and their populations against acts of terrorism and organised crime. Over 170 international security contractors with cutting edge equipment and services will be on display and available for demonstration alongside the free-to-attend technology workshops for all visitors to attend.