The US President Joe Biden signed, under the Department of State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2022, stipulates that, “…none of the funds made available by this Act should be used to create, procure, or display any map that inaccurately depicts the territory and social and economic system of Taiwan and the islands or island groups administered by Taiwan authorities.”
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs applauded this Act of the US. Taiwan’s Legislative Speaker You Si-Kun wrote on Facebook,
“Taiwan is not a part of China. We thank US lawmakers in the US Senate and House of Representatives for their nonpartisan support of Taiwan and look forward to the growth of Taiwan-US relations.”
Intentions of the ban: Cognitive warfare
This move is considered an extension of the USA’s Cognitive Warfare measure to counter China’s aggressive maneuvers in the South Asian subcontinent, especially for China’s intended aims on Taiwan.
China is known for its mischievous use of 9-dash Mapping, where territories get unanimously claimed. Now that Washington has officially banned the circulation of inaccurate maps promoting an acceptance of China’s ‘one China’ stance. Taiwan has got a sense of existence and the US’s acceptance.
Measures and consequences of cognitive warfare
Cognitive Warfare is an asymmetrical conflict, manipulation of information and ideas designed to convince technique with a strength of disrupting the ordinary understandings and reactions to events. Its insidious nature is capable of rumbling down the general character of a country and causing complete civil disharmony.
NATO’s official website recognizes five dimensions of Warfare: land, sea, air, space and cyberspace. It categorizes Cognitive Warfare as an increment in the fifth-dimensional Warfare technique. Also, NATO had published a review on Cognitive Warfare, Countering Cognitive Warfare Awareness and Resilience, which states,
“Cognitive warfare can be waged using a variety of vectors and media. The openness of social media platforms allows adversaries easily to target individuals, selected groups, and the public via social messaging, social media influencing, selective release of documents, video sharing, etc. Cyber capabilities permit the use of spearfishing, hacking, and tracking of individuals and social networks.”
Canada, a NATO member last year hosted an innovation challenge for, ‘The Invisible Threat: Countering Cognitive Warfare’. NSA of India Ajit Doval in December 2021,
“The new frontiers of war, what you call the fourth-generation warfare, is the civil society,” he further added, “If the internal security fails, no country can be great. If people are not secure, people are not safe, they cannot rise to the potential and probably the country will never grow,”
Humans have outmaneuvered their achievements in multi-domains. This multi-faceted success now includes warfare raging advancement. Where we no longer require spears and bullets. Slight misinformation can outdo the harm a bullet may cause.
Published By: Apoorva Wakodikar
Edited By: Subbuthai Padma
