In December 2004, a restructure of the Working Groups was undertaken to better reflect the changes taking place in the strategic environment. Consequently, the Working Groups listed below are no longer a active.

In their place, the following six Study Groups were established:-

1. Capacity-building for Martime Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific;
2. Countering the Proliferation of WMD in the Asia Pacific;
3. Future Prospects for Multilateral Security Frameworks in Northeast Asia;
4. Human Trafficking;
5. Regional Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding;
6. Enhancing the Effectiveness of the Campaign Against International Terrorism with Specific Reference to the Asia Pacific Region

A fifth working group - the CSCAP Working Group on Transnational Crime was established in June 1996 as a CSCAP Study Group. The Group became a full working group at the December 1997 CSCAP Steering Committee Meeting in Tokyo (see CSCAP Structure). 

As a result of the review of the activities and terms of reference of the Working Groups, conducted in the first half of 2001, it has been decided to establish a Planning Committee to provide a capacity to examine new and emerging regional security issues which, if appropriate, will then be further developed by one of the existing Working Groups or by some other suitable mechanism established for the purpose. The Planning Committee will be chaired by the CSCAP Co-Chairs.

For reports on the most recent meetings of these working groups, see the AUS-CSCAP Newsletter. 

The five working groups hold regular workshops and the papers presented at these workshops are often published in edited volumes. Details of recent publications can be found on the publications page.