MANILA, Philippines — A retired Italian naval officer and electronic warfare expert has emphasized the urgent need for the Philippines to strengthen its cyber and electromagnetic defenses as modern warfare is now shifting towards data and spectrum dominance in cyberspace and technological advances.

During the Indo-Pacific: Cyber Domain as the New Frontier of Security seminar held in Manila, retired Italian Navy Commodore Antonio Dovizio pointed out that the character of warfare in the Indo-Pacific is now changing fast and moving beyond ships, missiles and troop deployments into a new domain where control of data, signals and digital networks determine the outcome of future conflicts.

“The global security environment is undergoing a profound shift—from a unipolar world order toward an increasingly volatile multipolar landscape marked by intensifying strategic rivalry among major powers,” Dovizio cited.

He explained that at the center of this transformation is the electromagnetic spectrum—the invisible but critical domain that enables communications, intelligence, surveillance, navigation and weapons systems.
“The battlefield of the 21st century is no longer made of metal, but of frequencies, data, and signals,” he underscored while noting that from radar and satellites to maritime communications and civilian telecommunications networks, modern societies are deeply dependent on spectrum-based systems, making them vulnerable to disruption, interference, or manipulation.

This, he said, has given rise to electromagnetic spectrum operations (EMSO), an integrated approach that combines electronic warfare, cyber operations, signals intelligence and spectrum management into a unified operational framework.

In ending, the retired Italian Navy officer warned that cyber and electromagnetic threats are increasingly converging, exposing even secure digital systems to risks due to their reliance on wireless connectivity.
“Defending the network without defending the spectrum is like not defending the network at all.

Cyberattacks delivered through electromagnetic pathways could target critical national infrastructure, including energy grids, telecommunications systems, maritime logistics networks, and military command structures—with cascading effects that could disrupt essential services and economic stability,” Divizio concluded.