Pacific Forum, in collaboration with the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, held the Cyber ASEAN Consultation in Hanoi last June 9, 2023. The closed-door consultation convened Vietnam’s cybersecurity community to tackle the opportunities and challenges of strengthening cyber capacity in Viet Nam and Southeast Asia.
Pacific Forum, DAV join Forces to improve cyber capacity in Southeast Asia
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Dr. Vu Le Thai Hoang, Director of the Institute of Strategic Studies at DAV welcomed participants and thanked Pacific Forum for implementing the Cyber ASEAN project to improve cyber capacity in Southeast Asia. Dr. Vu emphasized that in today’s hyperconnected world, countries must collaborate to create a stable cyber environment.
Similarly, Mr. Mark Tattersall, Charges d’Affaires of the Australian Embassy in Hanoi, stressed that the event is very timely as Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has just wrapped up his official visit to Viet Nam to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Viet Nam and Australia relations. During his visit, Prime Minister Albanese raised the importance of enhancing cyber cooperation between the two countries. Pacific Forum’s Director of Cyberspace and Critical Technologies Mr. Mark Bryan Manantan emphasized that Cyber ASEAN is built around the principles of peer-to-peer collaboration and community-building, bringing positive benefits not only to the Australia-Viet Nam relations but to the entire Southeast Asia.
After the opening remarks, Mr. Manantan joined Cyber ASEAN Vietnam expert Dr. Lam Nguyen in convening the workshop’s four thematic sessions centered around the key pillars of the Cyber ASEAN Framework: International standards and international cooperation; information-sharing and incident management, and inclusion.
Overall, the consultation provided Vietnamese cyber experts, scholars, and practitioners from government, industry, academia, and civil society the opportunity to share best practices and lessons learned in managing the complex and ever-changing cyber environment. The event highlighted the practical significance of Vietnam-Australia relations in the emerging field of cyber and its potential contribution to the safety and prosperity of the region.
Held with support from DFAT’s Cyber and Critical Technology Cooperation Partnership, Cyber ASEAN is a capacity-building and development initiative to advance Southeast Asia’s proactive role in strengthening its overall cybersecurity and resiliency posture. Learn more about Cyber ASEAN and key updates of the project through: https://cyberasean.pacforum.org/.