'US and China Participate Simultaneously for the First Time in Korea-Led Cybersecurity Exercise'

Will the US and China Join Hands to Respond to Cyber Attacks?
Expectations to Contribute to Easing Tensions Surrounding the Korean Peninsula

(Photo by Asia Economy)

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hee-jun] The United States and China will participate together for the first time in an international cyber security exercise hosted by South Korea. Although tensions between the two countries are escalating, it is interpreted that they have joined hands solely in response to cyberattacks. Above all, since this exercise is proposed and led by South Korea, it is expected to contribute to easing the tensions between the U.S. and China surrounding the Korean Peninsula.

According to the Ministry of National Defense on the 1st, the U.S. and China will participate in a cyber security exercise remotely hosted by the South Korean military from the 15th to the 17th of this month. This exercise aims to strengthen the cyber security capabilities of the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) participating countries. It was proposed by South Korea during the 8th ADMM-Plus Cyber Security Sub-Committee meeting held via video conference in July and was unanimously agreed upon.

Instead of competing in cyberattack capabilities in this exercise, the military has set a goal to enhance defense capabilities through joint responses by participating countries to cyber threats including hacking, without assuming any specific hostile country. Additionally, it plans to propose that participating countries conduct this exercise offline next year and to regularize it in the future.

South Korea was elected as a co-chair country of the Cyber Security Sub-Committee for a three-year term from 2022 to 2024 along with Malaysia at the 5th meeting in 2020. Established in 2016, the ADMM-Plus Cyber Security Sub-Committee includes the 10 ASEAN countries plus South Korea, the U.S., China, Japan, Russia, India, Australia, and New Zealand. It is a consultative body that shares member countries' cyber security strategies and policies, discusses international law issues, and conducts international exercises.

While most of the 10 ASEAN countries and the 8 'Plus' countries are expected to participate, Russia's participation, which initiated the Ukraine war, has not yet been decided.