On 28 February 2024, the Governments of the Philippines and Australia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) expressing the shared desire of two strategic partners to enhance their cooperation in cyber affairs and critical technology cooperation.

Sharing of information and best practices on cyber and critical technology issues, cyber skills development, the digital economy, and multilateral coordination are the expected outcomes of the MoU.

The Philippines and Australia will share information on laws and regulations, national cyber and critical technology strategies, capacity building programs and best practice for government-industry collaboration on incident response management procedures. They also agreed to consult and coordinate on cyber threat assessments and share experiences, lessons learned, and best practices on cyber issues and on emerging critical technology issues which have the capacity to significantly enhance or pose risk to national security.

The MoU will facilitate links between government, private sector, academic and research institutions working on cyber and emerging cyber technology issues. It will foster innovation and promote growth of a secure digital economy as well as support Government-to-Government activities to facilitate digital economy.

The Philippines and Australia will work together to deepen understanding of the application of international law in cyberspace and support implementation of agreed norms of responsible state behaviour, coordinate efforts on cyber and critical technology standards in multilateral and multi-stakeholder forums and enhance international cooperation to combat the evolving challenges of cybercrime, including cementing international commitments and positively influencing negotiation of a UN cybercrime convention.

The MoU partnership of the Philippines and Australia is based on the principles of equality and reciprocity which contribute to the friendly relations between the two countries.