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Japan and the United States have a plan to help the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) boost their technical abilities to investigate cybercrimes, Kyodo news agency reported on June 7, citing Japanese government sources.

It said to this end, Japan will provide 150,000 USD and the US 250,000 USD to the United Nations to facilitate the dispatch of anti-cybercrime experts by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to ASEAN members.

According to Kyodo, Japan and the US will discuss soon with the UNODC the number of experts and the duration of their working trip in ASEAN countries, the sources said, adding the programme may be extended based on the success of the initial plan.

As their next step, the two countries are considering setting up a consultative body to bolster information sharing with ASEAN.

Working-level talks in May between Japan and the US resulted in an accord to train investigators in ASEAN, as a follow-up on a bilateral statement in April saying the two countries will coordinate closely to help ASEAN address cybercrime.

Source: VNA