ASEAN+3 Summit necessary for regional cooperation in addressing dual crisis: Thai experts

The ASEAN+3 Special Summit on COVID-19 Response on April 14 will bring in great opportunities for regional cooperation in dealing with an “unprecedented" dual crisis, said Thai experts.
ASEAN+3 Summit necessary for regional cooperation in addressing dual crisis: Thai experts ảnh 1Dr. Robin Ramcharan (Photo: VNA)
Bangkok (VNA) - The ASEAN+3 SpecialSummit on COVID-19 Response on April 14 will bring in great opportunities forregional cooperation in dealing with an “unprecedented" dual crisis, saidThai experts.

Accordingto Dr. Robin Ramcharan, lecturer at the Webster University of Thailand and ExecutiveDirector of the Bangkok-based Asia Centre, COVID-19 has revealed itself to benot only a health crisis but also a crisis for development as supply chains aredisrupted and international trade are disrupted.

“This health and developmental crisis poses a challenge to ASEAN’s purportedgoal of achieving the SDGs. In light of this, there have been calls for ASEANto step up its response to this situation,” he said.

He said ASEAN has recognised these challenges and in early April announcedseveral initiatives, including establishing a regional COVID-19 response fund,sharing information, and coordinating strategies to ease the impact of thecrisis on the economy and the people. The need for peace and stability in the EastSea was discussed in discussions with China, Japan and the Republic of Korea.

“Individual ASEAN members, especially Singapore, have taken decisive actionthat has led to flattening the curve of infection.  However, for future crises the speed of thereaction must be reviewed. An assessment must be made to whether faster actioncould have dramatically reduced the spread of the virus,” he noted.

According to Robin, the Summit must consider addressing a number of challengeswithin ASEAN and between it and its dialogue partners. These include the needfor accurate information on the infection rate, for transparency, betterfunctional cooperation, rapid reaction capacity, and preventing any outsideinterference in any decisive actions taken to contain the crisis. 

Other measures for better future coordination include the possibility of aregional stockpile of medical supplies and equipment and engaging the defencesector in humanitarian responses, he said, adding this crisis brings anopportunity for ASEAN to improve its coordination through technological means,notably video-conferencing.

The Summit is vital not only for ASEAN centrality to regionalpolitics and economics, but also for fostering better appreciation for eachother’s approach to the Indo-Pacific concept.

This dialogue process has proven useful in managing affairs with externalactors, especially big powers in order to preserve some balance of power in theregion. The ASEAN Plus Three encourages intra-Asian multilateral cooperation,which has historically been absent. At this particular junction, medicalcooperation through this forum should be of utmost priority.

Meanwhile, Dr. Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Director of theInstitute of Security and International Studies (ISIS), said the Summit isexpected to draw much attention, as China, the Republic of Korea and Japan haveimplemented effective measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hesaid, in the first outbreak in January, Southeast Asian countries seemed tohave curbed the spread of the disease. Vietnam seemed to prepare to announcethe end of the epidemic by the end of February. However, new infections havebeen rapidly increasing, with potential factors that can turn the disease intoa crisis beyond the control of the region.

He said that this ASEAN+3 Special Summit is a very important event for ASEAN,in the context that the partner countries have many conditions to support thisbloc.

In addition, Dr. Thitian stated that ASEAN's central role in the region is alsounder pressure, if the bloc cannot stabilize the situation and solve the crisiseffectively.

If that happens, the COVID-19 pandemic will take away many of the achievementsASEAN has made over the past years. Therefore, this is a very important timethat Vietnam in particular and ASEAN in general need to give priority to thefight against COVID-19, the ISIS leader said.

According to Robin, one can not ignore the fact that the health crisis has ledto a grinding halt to ASEAN activities. Vietnam has guided ASEAN well duringthis crisis, including taking the responsible step of postponing the ASEANsummit until June 2020.

Vietnam has engaged in all channels of communication that are possible. It hasguided a cohesive response by ASEAN through the ASEAN Chairman’s Statement onASEAN Collective Response to the Outbreak of COVID-19. At the request ofVietnam, the ASEAN Coordination Council coordinated in Laos on February 20. Italso proposed the creation of an ACC Working Group on Public HealthEmergencies, which was adopted. Vietnam has also called for better sharing ofinformation, improving relations between relevant national and regionalagencies and strengthening international collaboration to address the crisis.It has kept its word in pursuing during its Chairmanship theme “Cohesive andResponsive ASEAN”.

Vietnam has been hailed for its exemplary handling of thecrisis, given the much lower infection rate and no deaths. It announced strictmeasures much earlier than other parts of the region. Among the good measures arestrict contact tracing to identify and isolate infected persons and theirsecond and third-hand contacts, and a strict monitoring of suspectedinfections. As the second wave of the virus seems to be coming, Vietnam woulddo well to implement nation-wide testing, to the extent that it has the meansto do so.

Meanwhile, Dr. Thitinan recommends that in the coming time, Vietnam needsto keep a close watch on the situation and effectively address the immediatechallenges. At the same time, it should play the role of coordinating epidemicprevention and control in ASEAN and between the bloc and its partner countries,first of all in sharing information on best practices in disease prevention andtreatment.

Vietnam has certain resources such as test kits that can be shared with ortransferred to other countries in the region, he said, adding that the countryalso needs to rearrange all agendas of ASEAN, as well as other ASEAN-ledframeworks such as the East Asia Summit, in the context of the COVID-19pandemic./.
VNA

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