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Ministers from the Australian federal government have sat down with their Singaporean counterparts at the 13th meeting of the Singapore-Australia Joint Ministerial Committee, and cyber security is a focus for the two countries going forward.
Minister for Defence Richard Marles, Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong, and Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell represented Australia, while Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong represented Singapore.
Trade and investment opportunities were a large part of the meeting, as well as reaffirming existing agreements between the two governments, such as the Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement and the Joint Declaration on the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The relationship between Australia and Singapore remains as strong as ever, is the main bottom line.
However, the two country’s representatives noted the importance of ongoing cooperation when it came to law enforcement, counter-terrorism operations, and cyber security arrangements.
“The ministers noted relevant agencies had shared expertise in forensics, operational science, and technology,” said a communique released by Senator Penny Wong.
“The ministers noted Australia’s deployment of an Australian liaison officer to Singapore’s Counter-Terrorism Information Facility, a key multilateral counter-terrorism information-sharing mechanism in south-east Asia.”
But the importance of countering foreign interference and maintaining UN norms in cyber space were also on the agenda.
“[The ministers] underscored the value of their close bilateral and regional cooperation on cyber security issues, including in international cyber discussions at the United Nations. The ministers called for global adherence to the UN framework of responsible state behaviour in cyber space,” the communique read.
“They also acknowledged the importance of countering the threats of foreign interference as well as disinformation and misinformation.”
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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