Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP) Singapore National Committee
Established in 1992–1993, the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP) provides an informal mechanism for scholars, officials and others in their private capacities to discuss political and security issues and challenges facing the region.
CSCAP provides policy recommendations to various inter-governmental bodies and convenes regional and international meetings. It also establishes linkages with institutions and organisations in other parts of the world to exchange information, insights and experiences in the area of regional political-security cooperation.
Current CSCAP members include Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, the EU, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Republic of Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, United States of America and Vietnam.
For further information about CSCAP, please refer to the CSCAP Reader titled Assessing Track 2 Diplomacy in the Asia-Pacific Region, edited by Desmond Ball and Kwa Chong Guan.
CSCAP-Singapore
The CSCAP-Singapore Secretariat coordinated by RSIS has worked to increase Singapore’s participation in CSCAP.
Mr S. R. Nathan assumed Co-Chairmanship of CSCAP-Singapore in November 1996 together with Mr Kwa Chong Guan. Mr Nathan was succeeded by Professor Khong Yuen Foong (1999) and subsequently by Ambassador Barry Desker (2000–2014). Since November 2014, Ambassador Ong Keng Yong has been the Co-Chair of CSCAP-Singapore together with Mr Kwa Chong Guan.
The flagship event of CSCAP is a biennial conference known as the CSCAP General Conference. About 250 high-ranking officials and security experts from the Asia Pacific region attend this conference to discuss security issues and explore ideas in response to evolving developments in the region.
In December 1997, CSCAP-Singapore hosted the first CSCAP General Conference. The 12th and most recent edition of the CSCAP General Conference was held in Hanoi, Vietnam, from 5 to 6 December 2019.
CSCAP-Singapore has also actively participated in the meetings of various study groups of CSCAP on Maritime Environmental Protection, Preventive Diplomacy, Energy Security, Non-proliferation and Disarmament etc.
RSIS looks forward to working with CSCAP to promote security cooperation in the region.
COVID-19 CSCAP Articles
Australia CSCAP has commissioned a series of articles on the impact of COVID-19 sourced from regional experts. The articles explore questions about the consequences of COVID-19 for this region’s strategic and foreign policy environment. These articles can be viewed at the CSCAP website.
