Influence Through Cyber Capacity Building: Network Analysis of Assistance, Cooperation, and Agreements Among ASEAN Plus Three Countries.

ASEAN is fast emerging as a key strategic region amidst the intensifying geopolitical competition between the United States and China. Important global actors, including China, Japan, and South Korea, have each formulated regional policies with strong ASEAN saliency. The ASEAN Plus Three are global ICT powerhouses that have developed strong economic and political ties with the region, and the Plus Three countries have leveraged their significant cyber capability to extend their influence in the region. This study evaluates the relative performances of the Plus Three countries’ cyber outreach efforts to the region by visualizing the complex web of actors and cyber cooperation and assistance activities with network analysis tools and open source databases. The study finds that the Plus Three countries, despite the outward similarity in their respective regional strategies, are a study of contrasts, with one of them emerging as an influential yet silent power in the regional cyber diplomacy domain.