Background
As one of the most populous, diverse, and competitive regions, ASEAN is set to become one of the top digital economies in the world. According to the World Economic Forum, the region’s digital economy is projected to add an estimated USD 1 trillion to its gross domestic product (GDP) over the next ten years.1 The year 2021 marks two decades of ASEAN cooperation in the digital sector.2 It acknowledged that the sector will continue to be a key enabler for ASEAN’s integration and transformation into a single market.
Following the completion of the two ICT masterplans in 2015 and 2020 respectively. ASEAN launched the ASEAN Digital Masterplan 2025 (ADM 2025) envisioning “ASEAN as a leading digital community and economic bloc, powered by secure and transformative digital services, technologies and ecosystem”. The ASEAN Digital Masterplan 2025 encapsulates a single shared vision to deliver eight desired outcomes (DO) as shown below.
Source: ASEAN Digital Masterplan 2025
Japan and ASEAN have been collaborating in the development of the digital sector, including digital infrastructure, regulation, cybersecurity, capacity building, digital economy, and other relevant areas.The ASEAN Digital Ministers’ Meeting with Japan is held annually to discuss the initiatives and cooperation in the digital sector. The meeting endorses an ASEAN-Japan Digital Work Plan annually to guide and strengthen cooperation between ASEAN and Japan. The most recent work plan, the ASEAN-Japan Digital Work Plan for 2024, covers the following areas: (i) digital connectivity and infrastructure; (ii) digital transformation such as Open RAN; (iii) resilience, reliability and security such as capacity building activities through the ASEAN-Japan Cybersecurity Capacity Building Centre (AJCCBC) and cooperation for the ASEAN Regional Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT); (iv) digital policies, regulations and standards such as AI governance; and (v) cooperation and coordination through active participation in ASEAN-related meetings, the ASEAN-Japan ICT Cooperation Fund and the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF).
Areas of Support and Key Contributions
JAIF has been supporting a wide-range ofd projects, including flagship projects of AJCCBC. The establishment of the AJCCBC addressed the need for human resource capacity development in the field of cybersecurity as highlighted at the 10th ASEAN-Japan Information Security Policy Meeting. Facilitated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan and the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) of Thailand, JAIF had supported the AJCCBC to conduct various cybersecurity capacity development activities from 2018 to 2023.
The followings are supported by JAIF in alignment with the two consecutive Masterplans and key contributions of completed and implemented JAIF projects to -date.
JAIF-supported Projects Under the ASEAN Ict Masterplan (2010–2015)
JAIF-Supported Projects Under the ASEAN Ict Masterplan (2010–2015)
JAIF-Supported Projects Under the ASEAN Ict Masterplan (2016–2020)
JAIF supported projects under the ASEAN Digital Masterplan 2025
JAIF Project under Digital
From 2018-2023, under the JAIF program, Japan and ASEAN have worked together to enhance the skills of cybersecurity professionals in the region through the support for the AJCCBC and its activities. Nearly 900 participants from government, critical infrastructure officials, and students participated in the Cyber Defense Exercise with Recurrence (CYDER) training and the Cyber SEA Games. 3
Chuen Yang Beh, Junior College Student, Hwa Chong Institution, Singapore
At the relatively young age of 17, Chuen Yang was able to pass the national-level test to participate in the Cyber SEA Game 2020. “The selection process was conducted by the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore and was open to anyone below the age of 30, which made it really competitive,” he recalled, reflecting on his time completing two challenges within two hours. The junior college student teamed up with another junior college student, a university student, and a security engineer from his country, and they won first place after competing against other AMS.
© AJCCBC
In the 2020 competition, the participants engaged in a Capture the Flag (CTF) competition designed to enhance technical knowledge, skills, and experience, as well as teamwork. “Only a handful of organisations have the experience and capacity to hold a CTF competition due to its specific nature,” Chuen Yang said. He added that the Cyber SEA Game conducted by the AJCCBC is a prominent event and undoubtedly effective not only in enhancing technical knowledge but also in raising awareness of cybersecurity in ASEAN because it engaged participants from all AMS.
“Before I entered the competition, I had limited training and I mostly learned from the local trainings that I attended,” he shared. Chuen Yang saw the Cyber SEA Game as an opportunity to learn because he was able to gain a massive amount of knowledge within a short period of time. His greatest takeaways from the competition were experience and creative thinking. “The competition forced me to think outside the box, and my teammates helped me a lot by sharing certain tricks that they had seen before,” he further added. The CTF competition taught him to be more flexible in problem-solving and thinking.
Read more on his story in Beneficiaries’ Voice.
JAIF continues to extend its support to AJCCBC through the ASEAN-Japan Cybersecurity Capacity Building Centre (Step 2-2) project which is currently ongoing. In addition, Capacity Building for Government Officials/Staff to Bridge ASEAN Digital Divide in the Post-COVID19 has been recently approved to raise awareness and capacity of government officials to develop necessary policies and regulations to narrow digital divides. The project is considered as one of the programmes to commemorate the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation in 2023.
List of JAIF Projects on Digital Sector
As of 31 October 2024
1https://www.weforum.org/projects/digital-asean
2The ASEAN Digital sector was formerly known as the ASEAN Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector. The sectoral name was officially changed in October 2019.
3As of 2024, the AJCCBC is supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), building on the achievements made by the JAIF-funded projects.
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