ESIWA+ : EU and South-East Asia are stepping up their cooperation on cyber resilience

Since the 2021 launch of the EU’s Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, Europe has been reinforcing its presence in the region and contributing to its stability, security and prosperity. 

The EU project ESIWA+ aims to enhance security cooperation in Asia and the Indopacific, especially working in the fields of counterterrorism & violent extremism prevention, crisis management & hybrid threats, cyber security, and maritime security.

In the last months, two majors activities have been conducted in the sector of cybercrimes: a high-level seminar in Thailand aiming to reinforce collaboration on combatting scam, and in November a simulation exercise to enhance response to cyber crises. 

In Bangkok on 8th August 2025, more than 150 participants, onsite and online, from Thailand and the European Union (EU) convened for a high-level seminar titled “Safeguarding Digital Societies: Preventing Scams and Combatting Cybercrime,” bringing together representatives of government ministries and agencies, the private sector and civil society. 

The seminar, co-hosted by the Kingdom of Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES), was designed to address the escalating threats posed to public institutions, businesses and civil society by online scams and cyber-enabled fraud. It underscored the urgency of collective action to combat scams that undermine digital trust, with an emphasis on international coordination, proactive policy, and inclusive public awareness. Through peer-to-peer exchange, experts compared situations and responses in Thailand, ASEAN, and EU Member States, shaping a joint way forward in addressing shared challenges. 

In his opening remarks at the seminar, H.E. Mr. Russ Jalichandra, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Thailand, said: “No country or region is spared from the complex and cross-border nature of cybercrime and online scams — they have caused devastating impacts economically and psychologically to our peoples and threatened trust in public institutions, financial systems, and regional security. We value our partnership with the European Union and hope this exchange helps further align our efforts in tackling scam-related crimes in all its forms.”

The seminar focused on three key themes: 

• emerging scam typologies and their connection to transnational criminal networks and human trafficking,
• national and EU operational/legal frameworks, including enforcement challenges and coordination mechanisms,
• and public-private partnerships and regional cooperation, including prevention and victim support initiatives. 

In Bangkok in September 2025, Senior representatives from the European Union (EU) and Thailand gathered for an seminar and simulation exercise titled: “Responding to the Next Cyber Shock: EU-Thailand Conference & Tabletop on Cyber Resilience.”

The activity brought together over 100 participants onsite and online, including Thai ministries and security agencies, critical infrastructure regulators, EU institutions, cybersecurity experts from the public and private sector alike, and diplomatic officials.

H.E. Mr. Ruchakorn Napapornpipat, Deputy Secretary General of the National Security Council of Thailand, stated: “This collaboration between the EU and Thailand will significantly enhance our capabilities for cyber crisis preparedness, which is necessary for our secure future. We welcome deeper engagement with the EU on national and regional cyber resilience.”

In line with the EU strategy for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, this ESIWA+ activity further underscores the EU's commitment to fostering practical cooperation with partner countries in the region across key security domains. Discussions revolved around improving whole-of-government crisis coordination mechanisms and reinforcing national resilience against large-scale cyber incidents. Speakers and participants discussed threats to critical infrastructure in Thailand and the EU, lessons learned from cyber crisis exercises (e.g. Cyber Europe), AI-driven risks, hybrid threats, and information manipulation.

Participants then engaged in a tabletop exercise that simulated a hybrid cyber incident affecting national infrastructure and public trust. The simulation tested incident escalation and collaborative response mechanisms that were deliberated earlier in the day.