Minister Luong Tam Quang suggests strengthening international cooperation in cybersecurity

The 11th AMCC brought together ASEAN ministers responsible for information and communications technology and cybersecurity, alongside ASEAN dialogue partners, for ministerial-level discussions on key regional cybersecurity issues. 

Discussions focused on strengthening regional cybersecurity cooperation among ASEAN member states and deepening collaboration to respond to new developments in the cyber landscape.

Speaking at the conference, Minister Luong Tam Quang observed that cyberspace was undergoing profound transformations, serving as a new space for development and an arena for arms races and major-power competition. 

Rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI), big data, cloud computing, the Internet of Things, and other emerging technologies are generating an unprecedented momentum for development while fundamentally reshaping the security environment and increasing the risk of creating "pockets of heightened vulnerability."

Against this backdrop, Minister Luong Tam Quang affirmed that, as an active and responsible member of the international community, Viet Nam regards expanding cooperation, mitigating risks, connecting legitimate interests, and building a safe cyberspace as practical actions to fulfill its international responsibilities.

Notably, Viet Nam successfully hosted the signing ceremony of the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime (the Ha Noi Convention), attracting a record number of signatories at the opening ceremony. Viet Nam was also the first country in the region to complete ratification of the Convention. In July 2026, Viet Nam broke ground for the Asia-Pacific Regional Center for Combating Cybercrime.

Based on his assessment of the situation and practical cooperation, Minister Luong Tam Quang proposed three key focal directions, as follows:

First, ASEAN countries should strongly promote cybersecurity cooperation within ASEAN to lay a foundation for building trust and enhancing cooperation among nations worldwide on the basis of international law and the role of the United Nations. Further, ASEAN should uphold its central role while member states should focus on promoting the signing, ratification, and early put the Ha Noi Convention in force, using it as a normative reference framework to step up cooperation in combating cybercrime within ASEAN and to create a foundation for promoting cooperation between ASEAN and its partners, as well as among nations.

Second, ASEAN countries should make a strong shift from commitments to substantive and practical effective action, with people at the center and human security as the ultimate goal, for peace, stability and sustainable development. 

Cooperation should shift from normal information sharing to actionable information sharing; from incident warnings to coordinated response; from exchanging experience to building collective capacity; and from cooperation among specialized agencies to inter-agency, cross-border coordination in combating cybercrime.

Third, ASEAN countries should leverage ASEAN's central role in shaping new security norms, particularly in emerging fields. Next, ASEAN countries should promptly issue codes of conduct, standards, and technical regulations on AI governance, cyberspace, and cross-border data sharing to advance human development, the global economy, and human civilization, ensuring transparency, fairness, and equality among nations in strict accordance with the United Nations Charter.

Emphasizing that today’s collective choices and actions would have lasting implications for regional security, development, and prosperity, as well as the digital environment inherited by future generations, Minister Luong Tam Quang expressed confidence that ASEAN possessed the political foundations, experience, and capacity to contribute positively to shaping a peaceful, safe, stable, and resilient cyberspace.

On the sidelines of the 11th AMCC, Minister Luong Tam Quang held bilateral meetings with Singapore's Senior Minister, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam, Singapore's Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo; Estonia's Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Liisa-Ly Pakosta, and a delegation from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to exchange measures for advancing cooperation in cybersecurity, digital transformation, combating transnational crime, and ensuring technology security.