Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia

The Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) functions as a regional intergovernmental forum dedicated to enhancing cooperation towards promoting peace, security, and stability in Asia.

Other goals of the conference are: promoting trade and economic cooperation, combating illicit drug production and trafficking, eradicating the menace of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, cooperation on environmental issues, preventing the proliferation of – and eventually eliminating – weapons of mass destruction, developing confidence building measures to address humanitarian issues, and promoting mutual respect, understanding, and tolerance in the relations among civilisations.

CICA has four dimensions of interaction: economic dimension, environmental dimension, human dimension, new challenges and threats, and military-political dimension. One of the priority areas under the new challenges and threats dimension is security of and in the use of ICTs. In 2021, the Meeting of the CICA Ministers of Foreign Affairs adopted an updated CICA Catalogue of Confidence Building Measures, which encourages member states to implement several measures under this priority area:

• Promoting an open, secure, peaceful, and cooperative ICT environment in Asia on the basis of mutual respect, strengthening of contacts and exchanges, deepening of dialogue and cooperation, fighting against threats resulting from the malicious use of ICTs.
• Promoting dialogue on confidence-building, stability and risk reduction in the field of security of and in the use of ICTs among CICA member states.
• Recognising the importance of peaceful use of ICTs by reducing misunderstanding between CICA member states, promoting trust and confidence.
• Sharing information, best practices and raising awareness in the field of security of and in the use of ICTs to address the threats stemming from the use of ICTs.
• Improving cooperation to respond to the criminal use of ICTs based on an internationally agreed legal framework.

Russia and China coordinate activities related to the implementation of specific projects of these confidence building measures. 

CICA’s membership includes 27 countries: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Russia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkiye, UAE, Uzbekistan, and Viet Nam. There are also nine observer states: Belarus, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and the USA.