FULL REMARKS: Pakistan’s Lt Gen Zakria Speaks on Strategic Stability at Singapore Summit | AC14

Added: 2026-06-01

[00:00:00]Thank you.

[00:00:02]Thank you Major General. Can we now move on to Lieutenant General?

[00:00:08]Thank you very much. Excellency Distinguished Legates Ladies and Gentlemen. It is an honour to address this August gathering of distinguished statesmen, diplomats and military professionals from around the globe. I am grateful to ISSS. For affording me this opportunity towards the growing challenges to strategic stability arising from emerging technologies, multi-domain operations and the involvment in the environment.

[00:00:36]Ladies and Gentlemen, the operationalization of emerging domains alongside the legacy domains have significantly complicated the strategic stability landscape. Rapid advances in artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, cyber capabilities, quantum technologies and multi-domain operations are transforming military decision-making, command and control structures and strategic competition, while simultaneously introducing new vulnerabilities.

[00:01:06]Risk of miscalculation, attribution challenges and unintended escalation as states, societies and critical infrastructure become increasingly dependent on interconnected technological ecosystems. The erosion of predictability and compression of decision-making timelines are fundamentally reshaping the Nature of Interest Conflict and Strategic Returns.

[00:01:33]Excellencies The information environment is becoming increasingly fragmented as digital platforms AI-generated content and disinformation campaigns erode trust, distort narratives, and compress decision- making timelines In this evolving landscape, control of information and data integrity has emerged as a critical determinant of strategic stability along the conventional military balance Ladies and Gentlemen Study Stability in South Asia remains shaped by nuclear deterrents Conventional asymmetry Enduring political tensions and unresolved territorial and ideological disputes between India and Pakistan Despite the complexities of great power contestation China constitutes a constructive and stabilizing factor contributing to strategic balance Regional connectivity and economic cooperation The May 2025 conflict between India and Pakistan demonstrated Pakistan's effective multi-domain operations which was Enabled by tri-service energy integrated use of cyber electronic warfare (ISR), space base capabilities and synergetic ination maneuvers generating cross domain effects. Pakistan's resolute response has effectively debunked the notion of space for war in South Asia.

[00:03:06]Post-conflict dynamics have further constrained the prospects for conventional war. However, continued Indian militarization coupled with persistent adversarial retreat and the absence of robust crisis management mechanisms continue to undermine regional stability.

[00:03:25]In this evolving environment, South Asia's strategic equilibrium is increasingly contingent upon escalation control and effective crisis communication frameworks.

[00:03:39]Ladies and Gentlemen, navigating the complex challenges of a rapidly transforming geopolitical environment warrants a shift from competition-only postures to cooperative risk management across multiple domains while remaining committed to upholding international norms. Firstly, states must prioritize responsible governance of emerging technologies.

[00:04:05]Technological innovation cannot be divorced from ethical responsibility and strategic accountability.

[00:04:12]States should work towards internationally accepted norms regarding the military use of artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, cyber operations and space technologies. Human oversight must remain central in decisions involving the use of force, especially in systems with strategic implications.

[00:04:34]Confidence building measures, transparency mechanisms and technical dialogues among states are essential to reduce misunderstanding and prevent destabilizing arms races. Secondly, institutional crisis management mechanisms and strategic communication channels need to be strengthened. As a term of compressed decision-making timelines, direct communication assumes and enhances relevance. Even During Periods of Geopolitical Rivalry, Dialogue Must Never Cope. History repeatedly demonstrates that strategic stability is preserved not only through deterrence but also through communication as well. Thirdly, nations need to collaborate in codifying norms regarding space testing prohibitions to attacks on civilian infrastructure and human oversight requirements for autonomous weapon systems.

[00:05:31]Norms Do Not Deter Competitiveness, Ladies and Gentlemen, But They Do Set Boundaries That Make Deterrence More Calculable International law and multilateral institutions must be adaptive to emerging realities Technological transformation is outpacing existing institutional and legal frameworks Strengthening global cooperation on cyber governance Responsible AI development Space security Digital ethics and international integrity is imperative to maintaining the geostrategic equilibrium No country, regardless of its size and technological sophistication, can manage the emerging multifaceted risks alone The challenges we face are transnational by nature and therefor require collaborative responses Strategic stability is not only about military capability, it is also about societal endurance Countries must strengthen cyber resilience Protect critical infrastructure Improve digital and technical literacy and build institutional credibility Public trust is a strategic asset Resilient societies are less vulnerable to external manipulation and internal destabilization through misinformation Polarization and technological disruption Excellency, ladies and gentlemen, at its core Strategic Stability is ultimately about responsible statecraft Technology Itself is not inherently destabilizing, but the real challenge lies in how technologies are governed, integrated, and employed Human judgment Political wisdom and international cooperation For the greater [sound of clearing throat] good remain indispensable We must resist the temptation For the greater good, we must resist the temptation to view every technological break through solely through the lens of competition and militarization Rather a function of the balance between innovation and responsibility National security and global stability Strategic competition and collective survival Let us remember That peace and stability have never been involuntary outcomes of technological progress. They have always depended on political responsibility, strategic restraint, and sustained international engagement. I thank you very much.

[00:08:08]Thank you, Lieutenant General, and last but not least, General.

[00:08:15]Thank you very much and beside all the