Refers to the official governmental channel for political and security dialogue in the region. Participants in Track One meetings attend as representatives of their respective governments. Discussions, though often informal in terms of style or setting, are assumed to be official statements of national policy. In East Asia and the Asia-Pacific, Track One meetings and organizations include the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the ASEAN+3 (or Ten+3) Process, the Shanghai Cooperation Organizations, the Six-Party Talks, Asian Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). In December 2005 the first East Asian Summit (EAS) also brought together leaders from around the region. In Northeast Asia, the Trilateral Coordination and Oversight Group (TCOG) manages relations between the Republic of Korea, Japan, and the United States at the official level.

The principal region-wide Track-One security forum is the ARF, which held its first meeting in Bangkok in 1994. It involves an annual ministerial-level discussion, and member states are usually represented by their foreign minister and two senior officials. As the forum's name suggests, ASEAN retains a special position within the ARF. The Chairman's Statement issued after the Brunei ARF meeting in 1995 noted that “ASEAN undertook to be the driving force.” The ARF has no permanent secretariat but is supported by an ARF Unit located within the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta. The chair of the ARF rotates annually through the ASEAN capitals in alphabetical order.

The ARF has a number of smaller track one sub-groups under its auspices, including an annual inter-sessional Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) which prepares the agenda and meeting arrangements for the ARF. In addition to the SOM, the ARF sponsors Inter-Sessional Meetings (ISMs) on Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime, Disaster Relief, and an Inter-Sessional Support Group (ISG) on Confidence-Building Measures and Preventive Diplomacy. It also holds a wide range of workshops on topics ranging from peacekeeping to small arms and light weapons.