SINGAPORE – On the margins of the 10th ASEAN Ministerial Conference on Cybersecurity (AMCC) held in Singapore, Dr Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), met today with Josephine Teo, Minister for Digital Development and Information and Minister-in-charge of Smart Nation and Cybersecurity of Singapore.
The two officials discussed enhancing ASEAN’s digital transformation agenda, with a focus on stronger regional cooperation in cybersecurity and combating online scams.
Dr Kao and Minister Teo exchanged views on key priorities emerging from the digital era, including how ASEAN member states can collectively bolster resilience in the face of rising cyber threats.
The Singaporean minister emphasised the role of smart-nation initiatives and cyber-governance frameworks in supporting the region’s ambition for a secure digital ecosystem.
The meeting took place against the backdrop of Singapore hosting the AMCC, a ministerial-level forum that serves as a platform for ASEAN member states to align on cyber-policy, capacity building and norms of state behaviour in cyberspace.
Dr Kao’s participation highlights ASEAN’s intent to integrate digital and cybersecurity issues more deeply into its broader strategic cooperation.
During the conference, Minister Teo reiterated Singapore’s commitment to regional digital priorities, including a rules-based approach to cyberspace and elevated coordination across member states. She noted that cyber-threat landscapes are evolving rapidly and require agile, collective responses.
The dialogue between the two officials underscored several thematic areas:
- Cyber-resilience and capacity-building: Strengthening ASEAN’s operational readiness to respond to cyber-incidents through shared frameworks, training, and information exchange.
- Digital economy and trust: Supporting the growth of online economies in ASEAN by fostering trust in cyberspace, including reducing online scams and bolstering consumer protection.
- Norms and governance: Reinforcing the region’s adherence to voluntary norms of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace and promoting inter-governmental collaboration across ASEAN.
By meeting face-to-face on the sidelines of the AMCC, both sides demonstrated their readiness to deepen cooperation at a practical level.
Singapore, as a digital hub and host of advanced cyber-security infrastructure, sees itself as a partner for ASEAN member states in elevating regional digital governance.
For ASEAN, which is actively pursuing its digital transformations under frameworks such as the Digital Masterplan 2025 and the Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), such exchanges reduce fragmentation and bring coherence to the region’s cyber-agenda.
A recent regional statement noted that ASEAN’s digital economy is rapidly expanding, bringing both opportunity and risk, making collective cyber-defence ever more crucial.
Within the local context, Malaysia, currently holding the ASEAN chairmanship for 2025, has an interest in ensuring that developments in digital and cyber domains align with the broader summit agenda later this year.
For readers in Malaysia and neighbouring countries, the outcome of such ministerial discussions signals that digital resilience and security will remain high on the regional infrastructure and policy agenda.
Looking ahead, observers will monitor whether this meeting leads to concrete follow-on initiatives, such as regional cyber-capability-building programmes, joint exercises of national CERTs (Computer Emergency Response Teams), or standardised guidelines to counter online scams and telecom-fraud across ASEAN.
The reinforcement of ties between the ASEAN Secretariat and Singapore offers practical momentum for coordinating digital initiatives across the ten-nation bloc.
In a world where digital connectivity and cyber-risk go hand in hand, the meeting between Dr Kao and Minister Teo offers a clear message: cybersecurity is not an optional add-on, but foundational to ASEAN’s digital ambitions and collective regional resilience.
Sources: ASEAN Main Portal (RAinfo.org), Cyber Security Agency of Singapore
