The COVID-19 pandemic has seen some Asian countries employ sophisticated mass-surveillance technologies normally employed to gather intelligence for domestic security purposes to contain the spread of infection in their populations. There has also been an intrusion of military and allied national security actors into the traditionally civilian domain of public health, in the
Pandemics and large-scale outbreaks can claim millions of lives, disrupt societies and devastate economies. The devastating human, economic, and social cost of COVID-19 has highlighted the urgent need for coordinated action to build stronger health systems.