The Governments of the United States and the Philippines have jointly released a statement marking the successful conclusion of the Philippines-United States Cyber-Digital Policy Dialogue held in Washington, D.C., on July 15 and 16, 2024.
Senior officials from both nations gathered to reaffirm their commitment to promoting an open, interoperable, secure, and reliable internet. They emphasized fostering an information and communication technologies (ICT) ecosystem that supports digital economic growth and cyberspace stability while deepening bilateral cooperation on cybersecurity.
U.S. Ambassador at Large for Cyberspace and Digital Policy Nathaniel Fick and Philippines Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Ivan John E. Uy opened the dialogue. They highlighted the essential role of international cybersecurity and digital policy in reinforcing democratic values and digital solidarity.
The Cyber Policy discussions were chaired by Department of State Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Cyberspace Security Liesyl Franz and DICT Undersecretary for Infostructure Management, Cybersecurity, and Upskilling Jeffrey Ian C. Dy. The Digital Policy discussions were led by U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy Ambassador Steve Lang alongside DICT Undersecretary Jeffrey Dy.
The U.S. delegation included representatives from various departments such as State; National Cyber Directorate; USAID; Defense; Homeland Security; Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, International Trade Administration, National Institute of Standards and Technology; Justice including Criminal Division and FBI; Federal Communications Commission; Federal Trade Commission; U.S. Trade and Development Agency; Export-Import Bank; International Development Finance Corporation.
Philippine delegates came from DICT, Cybercrime Investigation Coordinating Center (CICC), National Security Council (NSC), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Transportation (DOTR) – Office of Transportation Security, Philippine National Police (PNP), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), National Privacy Commission (NPC), National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA), Department of National Defense (DND), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Both sides provided updates on their national cyber policies, exchanged views on bilateral cyber cooperation, regional developments, international fora participation, cyberspace stability promotion through accountability measures, deterring malicious cyber activity, strengthening regional cooperation on cyber capacity building efforts to combat cybercrime within the context of the Philippines’ recent admission to the International Counter Ransomware Initiative.
They reaffirmed commitments to enhance bilateral cooperation in cybersecurity resilience against malicious activities targeting critical infrastructure with enhanced collaboration between respective national Computer Emergency Readiness Teams (CERTs).
The dialogue acknowledged progress in fostering greater regional cybersecurity cooperation aligned with UN-affirmed Frameworks for Responsible State Behavior in Cyberspace implementing cyber confidence-building measures reducing ICT-related conflict risks advanced through ASEAN Regional Forum Inter-Sessional Meeting on ICT security use.
Addressing a robust bilateral agenda on digital policy issues recognized promoting trusted ICT ecosystems' development deployment supporting global digital economy growth emphasizing strengthening cybersecurity protecting privacy intellectual property rights digital freedom importance endorsed secure fifth-generation networks open interoperable trusted architectures Open Radio Access Network frameworks welcoming plans piloting Open RAN projects within national broadband free Wi-Fi initiatives promoting secure reliable global undersea cable networks cloud computing satellite connectivity advancing digital inclusion discussing cloud policy resiliency redundancy best practices exchanging reforms expanding satellite-based solutions market access low middle earth orbit services ensuring trusted cross-border data flows underpinning global CBPR forum interoperability among data protection privacy frameworks enhancing ASEAN Digital Ministers Senior Officials meeting cooperations fostering investments secure resilient ICT infrastructures private sector engagements promoting 5G wireless technologies public-private partnerships developing digital economy coordination areas data protection cross-border flows advancing digital freedom capacity building responsible Internet stewardship identifying further cooperation opportunities upcoming October 2024 Trilateral Cyber Digital Dialogue involving Japan participation.
