ASEAN LEADERS’ STATEMENT
ON CYBERSECURITY COOPERATION
WE, the Heads of State/Government of the Member States of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), namely Brunei Darussalam, the Kingdom of
Cambodia, the Republic of Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic,
Malaysia, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, the Republic of the Philippines,
the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand and the Socialist Republic
of Viet Nam, on the occasion of the 32nd ASEAN Summit;
SHARING the vision of a peaceful, secure and resilient regional cyberspace that
serves as an enabler of economic progress, enhanced regional connectivity and
betterment of living standards for all;
COGNISANT of the pervasiveness of cyber threats that has long been
considered an international problem, and of the urgency and increasing
sophistication of the ever-evolving and transboundary cyber threats facing our
region amidst widespread economic digitisation and the proliferation of Internetconnected devices across ASEAN;
RECOGNISING that cybersecurity is a cross-cutting issue that requires
coordinated expertise from multiple stakeholders from across different domains
to address effectively;
FURTHER RECOGNISING that the cyber domain potentially represents an
opportunity for significant regional economic and technological development,
and can also serve as a significant source of employment;
ACKNOWLEDGING that the promotion of international voluntary cyber
norms of responsible State behaviour is important for cultivating trust and
confidence and the eventual development of a rules-based cyberspace;
REAFFIRMING that international law, and in particular the Charter of the
United Nations, is applicable and essential to maintaining peace and stability and
promoting an open, secure, stable, accessible and peaceful Information and
Communications Technology (ICT) environment;
ACKNOWLEDGING that State sovereignty and international norms and
principles that flow from sovereignty apply to the conduct by States of ICTrelated activities and to their jurisdiction over ICT infrastructure within their
territory;
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