Thank you for giving me the floor, Mr. Chair.

The Philippines aligns itself to the ASEAN statement on confidence-building measures delivered by Cambodia. Allow me to deliver some brief remarks in our national capacity.

Mr. Chair,

We need to avoid duplicating efforts and concentrating on putting previously successful Confidence Building Measures into action (CBMs).

The Philippines reiterates the importance of Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) as tools to reduce tension, minimize the risk of misperception, and build trust. CBMs can operate as a pressure valve, allowing critical circumstances to be de-escalated. Notable agreements in this realm include the various sets of cybersecurity CBMs agreed to by the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). As many have mentioned before me, a mechanism like our OEWG can be regarded as a CBM in and of itself.

Mr. Chair,

In the previous OEWG, States concluded that establishing national Points of Contact (PoCs) is a CBM in itself as well as a helpful measure for the implementation of many other CBMs. Moving forward, this current OEWG should agree on the modalities of establishing a directory of such points of Contact at the global level.

For instance, we can utilize the UNIDIR Cyber Policy Portal where the directories of PoCs, inter alia, at the technical, policy, and diplomatic levels, will be made available to allow States to easily access this information, including during uncertain/unexpected situations. The Secretariat will consolidate all the needed details according to their categories and regularly update these directories. Routine call-out exercises to keep the directories up to date can also be explored. The ASEAN Defense Minister’s Meeting (ADMM) Plus Experts’ Working Group on Cybersecurity (EWG on CS) has developed a Points of Contact and Technical Expert Personnel Directory. We can explore ASEAN’s experiences and lessons learned to further develop our own modalities in this regard.

Aside from this, a compendium of lessons learned and best practices related to CBMs can also be made available in the UNIDIR Cyber Policy Portal. Since States are encouraged to continue inform the Secretary-General of their views and assessments and to include additional information on lessons learned and good practice related to relevant CBMs at the bilateral, regional or multilateral level, the UNIDIR can use this information, with the Member States permission, to compile this information and have it posted regularly in the website.

I thank you, Mr. Chair.