3 areas of cooperation Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP) Track II Network of ASEAN Defence and Security Institutions (NADI) UN OEWG Open-ended Working Group on security of and in the use of information and communications technologies Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP) non-governmental (second track) process for dialogue on security issues in the Asia Pacific informal mechanism for scholars, officials and others in their private capacities to discuss political and security issues and challenges facing the region provides policy recommendations to inter-governmental bodies convenes regional and international meetings establishes linkages with institutions and organisations in other parts of the world exchanges information, insights and experiences in the area of regional political-security cooperation. Track II Network of ASEAN Defence and Security Institutions (NADI) Secretariat is RSIS Aims of the forum network and to build confidence and familiarity among the Asean think tanks and research institutions to facilitate closer cooperation. policy analysts specialising in defence and security issues, academics researching security cooperation and defence officials to discuss issues of security cooperation that the Asean Summit and Asean Defence Ministers have raised participants to think beyond their governments’ positions and to provide timely fresh ideas and relevant recommendations for the Asean defence track to consider. UN OEWG on Cyber Open-ended Working Group on security of and in the use of information and communications technologies The group is mandated to further develop the rules, norms and principles of responsible behaviour of States; consider initiatives of States aimed at ensuring security in the use of information and communications technologies; establish, under the auspices of the United Nations, regular institutional dialogue with the broad participation of States; continue to study, with a view to promoting common understandings, existing and potential threats in the sphere of information security, inter alia, data security, and possible cooperative measures to prevent and counter such threats, and how international law applies to the use of information and communications technologies by States, as well as confidence-building measures and capacity-building.

1. Cooperation
between ASEAN
military and
private, academic
and public sector in
cybersecurity
Warsaw Cyber Summit 2023
Benjamin Ang
Dy Head, CENS/RSIS/NTU
isbang@ntu.edu.sg

2. Three examples
• CSCAP
• NADI
• UN OEWG

3. Council for
Security
Cooperation in
the Asia Pacific
(CSCAP)
• non-governmental (second track)
process for dialogue on security issues
in the Asia Pacific
• informal mechanism for scholars,
officials and others in their private
capacities
• to discuss political and security issues
and challenges facing the region
• exchanges information, insights and
experiences in the area of regional
political-security cooperation.

4. Examples
of CSCAP
work
consequences of
COVID-19 for this
region's strategic and
foreign policy
environment
CSCAP Study Group
on Nonproliferation
and Disarmament
(NPD) in the Asia
Pacific.

5. CSCAP Study Group on
International Law and
Cyberspace
• Objectives
• consider various perspectives on the
application of international law to
cyberspace – for peacetime.
• identify specific areas of focus for
ASEAN-led platforms
• frame questions by which these topics
could be discussed

6. CSCAP → ARF
• CSCAP (academics) produced this for ASEAN Regional
Forum (ARF) (government)
• ARF is the “effective consultative Asia-Pacific Forum for
promoting open dialogue on political and security
cooperation in the region”
• ARF members: Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam,
Cambodia, Canada, China, Democratic People’s Republic of
Korea, European Union, India, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR,
Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pakistan,
Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russia,
Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, United States,
and Viet Nam.
• Participants are Ministers of Foreign Affairs

7. ARF interest in international
cybersecurity policy
• ARF Inter-Sessional Meeting on Security of and in the Use
of ICTs (ISM-ICT) and Open Ended Study Group (OESG)
(established in August 2017 with Japan, Malaysia and
Singapore as co-chairs)
• Five proposals for confidence building measures were
tabled and discussed
• The ASEAN Regional Forum Experts and Eminent Persons
(ARF/EEP) Recommendations for ARF Initiatives on
Promoting Cyber Security (adopted 6 March 2018)
recommended that “ARF Participants should build on
relevant work underway in the United Nations and discuss
the norms, rules, and principles of responsible behavior of
states, including how international law applies to the use of
ICTs consistent with UN General Assembly Resolutions.”

8. Who participated in the CSCAP
Study Group
• CSCAP members (academia):
Australia, China, European Union,
Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New
Zealand, Philippines, Republic of
Korea, Singapore, Vietnam (1st
and 2nd meeting), USA and
Russia (2nd meeting)
• Expert keynote: Air Commodore
Bill Boothby (Retd)

9. Examples of what
CSCAP discussed
• The divergence between the Russian/Chinese
view and the Western (US/Europe) view on
International Law with regard to cyberspace.
• Difficulty of obtaining a common
understanding of International Law in
cyberspace - differences between the
western (US/Europe) and Russian/Chinese
views

10. Strengths and weaknesses of
CSCAP
Strength
• Non-government experts
with from countries with
opposing views could
discuss the controversial
issues freely, compared
to government
delegations
• Discussions can be
shared with governments
(CSCAP to ARF)
Weakness -
• Government influence is
strong, the final report
still has not been
published because of
different political views
• Needs more private
sector technology
company participation

11. NADI
Track II Network of Asean
Defence and Security
Institutions

12. Aims of the NADI forum
• network and to build confidence and familiarity
among the Asean think tanks and research
institutions to facilitate closer cooperation.
• policy analysts specialising in defence and
security issues, academics researching security
cooperation and defence officials to discuss
issues of security cooperation that the Asean
Summit and Asean Defence Ministers have raised
• participants to think beyond their governments’
positions and to provide timely fresh ideas and
relevant recommendations for the Asean defence
track to consider.

13. NADI → ADMM
and ADSOM
• NADI (academic) provides analysis for
ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting
(ADMM) and ASEAN Defence Senior
Officials Meeting (ADSOM) (military)
• The informal Track II platform offers a more
conducive environment for a free
discussion of ideas and proposals that may
be deemed too sensitive to be formally
tabled at an official Track I meeting
• Even though some NADI participants are
from defence research institutes or
government agencies

14. NADI Workshop on “Cyber Threats
and Its Impacts on National and
Regional Security in Southeast
Asia” (2022)
• Participants: academics / defence researchers from Brunei,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar,
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam
• Examples of recommendations
• Regional joint exercises, cyber drills
• Regional response team
• Exercises including more private sector participants since the
private sector owns, operates, and controls the most critical
infrastructure
• Confidence Building Measures like dialogues with stakeholders,
such as institutes, relevant private sector organizations, and civil
society
• Capacity building and skills training
• NADI members to participate in the UN OEWG

15. UN OEWG on
Cyber
Open-ended Working Group on
security of and in the use of
information and communications
technologies

16. Mandate of UN OEWG
on Cyber
• further develop the rules, norms and principles of responsible
behaviour of States;
• consider initiatives of States aimed at ensuring security in the use of
information and communications technologies;
• establish, under the auspices of the United Nations, regular
institutional dialogue with the broad participation of States;
• continue to study, with a view to promoting common
understandings, existing and potential threats in the sphere of
information security, inter alia, data security, and possible
cooperative measures to prevent and counter such threats, and
how international law applies to the use of information and
communications technologies by States,
• as well as confidence-building measures and capacity-building.

17. How non-government
stakeholders participate
in UN OEWG
• Relevant non-governmental organizations in consultative
status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
in accordance inform the Secretariat of the OEWG
• Other interested non-governmental organizations
relevant and competent to the scope and purpose of the
OEWG submitting information to the Secretariat
• These organizations would be invited to participate, on a
non-objection basis, as observers in the formal sessions
of the OEWG.
• Member States should utilize the non-objection
mechanism judiciously, bearing in mind the spirit of
inclusivity.
• Accredited stakeholders will be able to attend formal
meetings of the OEWG, make oral statements during a
dedicated stakeholder session, and submit written inputs
to be posted on the webpage of the OEWG.

18. Strengths and weakness of the UN
OEWG multi-stakeholder modalities
Strengths
• Enables academic experts and
technical experts to give inputs
at the meeting
• Governments able to consult
experts on the side
• Funding of experts to
participate
Weaknesses
• Some governments allegedly
use the objection mechanism
to shut out experts that might
criticize them e.g. Microsoft
• Some academics and experts
unable to get visa to attend UN
meetings in New York
• Not all the academics are
relevant
• Need more ASEAN academics
and technology companies