ASEAN leaders connect over coronavirus crisis

Forced apart by the coronavirus pandemic, Southeast Asian leaders linked up by video on Tuesday to plot a strategy to overcome a crisis that has threatened their economies and kept millions of people in their homes under lockdowns.

The heads of state or government of the 10 ASEAN members and the ASEAN Secretary-General agreed that the block’s current leading priority is controlling the COVID-19 pandemic.

The meeting, chaired by Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, agreed member states should join hands with one another and with other nations to prevent the global pandemic from spreading further, with focus on preventing cross-border infections.

Diplomats say that unity is now crucial as the region battles COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. All of ASEAN’s member states have been hit by infections, with the total number of confirmed cases reaching more than 20,000, including over 800 deaths.

Vietnam proposed funding to deal with the pandemic, building emergency medical stockpiles and sharing resources.

Both Malaysia and the Philippines said they would welcome a response fund, with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte warning he was “particularly concerned with food security.”

The leaders also stated that the ASEAN should pay due attention to taking measures to minimize the socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19. The countries should forge closer coordination in protecting their citizens, providing social security services as well as economic stimulus and aid packages, and maintaining supply chains to protect people and assist small and medium-sized enterprises.

The ASEAN leaders also touched upon mapping out plans to recover the economy in the post-pandemic period, including stepping up intra-block trade, speeding up negotiations and then finalizing economic cooperation deals, implementing economic stimulus packages, and enhancing the capability of coping with external shocks.

The countries adopted the Declaration of the Special ASEAN Summit on COVID-19, showing their political commitment about solidarity and cooperation within the regional grouping as well as with its partners.

The leaders of the ASEAN held further talks later in the day, also through video conferencing, with their counterparts from China, Japan and South Korea, who expressed support in helping ASEAN fight the coronavirus.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said the pandemic has had a severe impact on the global economy, but he told fellow leaders that their countries have jointly confronted past crises and have braced for contingencies.

“The battle against COVID-19 has made us more aware that we are in a community with a shared future,” Li said.

He suggested making full use of regional mechanisms such as the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization to enhance crisis preparedness.

Li also proposed opening a “fast-track lane” for essential personnel on urgent visits in the fields of commerce, logistics, production and technological services among the ASEAN countries, China, Japan and South Korea.

The fast-track lane should be opened with all the necessary control measures in place, said Li, noting that this will be conducive to maintaining the necessary flow of people and goods and stabilizing the industrial and supply chains.

Li pointed out that countries need to leverage their strengths in economic complementarity and strong business ties to further ease tariffs, eliminate barriers, boost the flow of trade and investment, and keep markets open to each other, in an effort to restore growth in East Asia as quickly as possible.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe suggested the establishment of an ASEAN center for infectious diseases.