Chan Tsz King sets national security risk monitoring and early warning as top priorities for 2026

The Secretary for Security, Chan Tsz King, has designated national security risk monitoring as one of the major priorities of his Secretariat for 2026.

Presenting his first sectoral Policy Address for 2026 at the Legislative Assembly, Chan announced that, for the next year, the focus will continue on perfecting and refining several laws and legal regimes, as well as enforcement mechanisms aimed at reinforcing national security in Macau.

As the Secretary remarked, the focus will not only be on adjusting legislation but also on perfecting the risk monitoring system and enforcing an early warning mechanism to prevent risks before they become threats.

Chan further stressed that the security sector will assist the government in optimizing the organizational structure and operational mechanisms of the National Security Committee; support the National Security Affairs Adviser and Technical Adviser in performing their duties; and collaborate with other sectors to establish a national security risk monitoring and early warning indicator system and enforcement mechanism.

He added that the sector will continue advancing the legislation of the “Law on the National Security Committee of the Macau Special Administrative Region” and the “Law on the Prevention, Investigation, and Suppression of Terrorist Acts,” as well as reviewing and amending relevant supporting regulations, strengthening maritime, land, and port security surveillance, and optimizing contingency plans for large-scale events.

Another area the Secretary said he would address was combatting crimes endangering national security to “prevent interference and disruptive acts by external forces.” The preventive mechanisms are also said to extend to cybersecurity.

800 new ‘eyes in the sky’

Chan announced that 800 new video surveillance cameras, under the street surveillance system “Eyes in the Sky,” will be installed by 2027.

The new cameras are part of the sixth phase of the city’s surveillance system (680), as well as 120 cameras to be installed in new areas of Zone A of the new landfills.

To improve surveillance beyond land, the Secretary also proposes upgrading and expanding the “Intelligent Maritime Surveillance System.”

The system is a primary tool of the Customs Service for monitoring coastal waters, detecting suspicious activities, and combating cross-border crimes such as illegal immigration and smuggling.

Among the updates, Chan mentioned upgrading the night-vision equipment and the drone management system.

This system also aims to update the Automatic Identification System (AIS), which uses AI-powered video analytics to track registered vessels and control maritime traffic.

This aligns with the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) initiative to develop “smart city” and “smart port” infrastructure. The system is expected to be further integrated with the customs surveillance zones in the cooperation zone in Hengqin.

Cybersecurity to be tackled with cooperation

One of the concerns expressed by lawmakers during the debate on the Policy Address for the Security sector concerned the large number of cybersecurity attacks and phone and online scams.

In response, Chan said that authorities have been amending all relevant legislation to increase protection for people and companies, but noted that, due to its nature, this type of crime can only be prevented or tackled through international and inter-regional cooperation.

The Secretary mentioned that local authorities have already established international and regional cooperation and information-sharing mechanisms to help prevent losses to local residents and companies.

He also noted that the local Cybersecurity Operation Centre has been updated annually, providing guidelines on vulnerability management and technical guidance.

He also remarked that operators, namely telecommunications and internet providers, as well as electricity and water supply, among others, have been called to provide feedback, which has been taken into account in drafting a technical specification for cybersecurity vulnerability management of critical infrastructure. It is expected to be released by year-end and take effect in January 2026.

Regarding cybersecurity work on non-critical infrastructure, the Judiciary Police (PJ) director, Sit Chong Meng, said that in recent years, many related facilities and businesses have experienced cyberattacks involving data theft by hackers.

In response, authorities carried out preventative work last year, assisting in reviewing whether the systems of food delivery platforms, chain supermarkets, and ride-hailing platforms that store large amounts of local residents’ data meet security standards.
On the topic, several lawmakers expressed support for amending the local anti-cybercrime laws to increase the scope of penalties, create a “deterrent factor,” and shield Macau from this type of criminal activity.

‘deepfakes have not yet caused losses’

In response to lawmakers’ questions about cases of AI deepfake scams, the PJ director said that this year, there were only three reports involving AI deepfake technology fraud, mainly involving altering appearance and voice to impersonate well-known figures in Macau to commit fraudulent investment schemes. So far, none of these cases have resulted in any losses.

Robot dogs lack patrol efficiency, says Security Chief

During the debate on the 2026 Policy Address for the Security sector, the Secretary, Chan Tsz King, revealed that authorities had held internal discussions about introducing robotic patrol dogs. Still, Chan noted that it was decided this technology is not yet mature and therefore not efficient enough.

He remarked that despite this, authorities are open to continuing to study the potential uses of such equipment in the near future, hoping it can be applied to daily patrols, security work for large-scale events, and fire protection.

Regarding the same topic, Unitary Police Service Commissioner Leong Man Cheong stated that authorities also need to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of these tools, as prices vary from several hundred thousand to one million patacas, depending on different specifications and purposes.