ASEAN tackles emergency virus fund, sea feud in video summit
The Associated Press
Southeast Asian leaders held their annual summit by video June 26, 2020, to show unity and discuss a regional emergency fund to respond to the immense crisis brought by the coronavirus pandemic. Long-divisive South China Sea conflicts were also in the spotlight.
The leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) talked online due to regional travel restrictions and health risks that delayed dozens of meetings and shut out the ceremonial sessions, group handshakes and photo-ops that have been the trademark of the 10-nation bloc’s annual summits. (Pictured: Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc addresses the opening ceremony of the 36th ASEAN Summit in Hanoi, Vietnam.)
Vietnam, the current ASEAN chair, had planned face-to-face meetings, but most member states decided it was still too risky for leaders to travel. Still, it organized a colorful opening ceremony with traditional songs and dance in Hanoi for about 200 Vietnamese officials and foreign diplomats. Heads of state watched remotely on their screens.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is a test for ASEAN,” Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said. He said the outbreak “is fanning the flame of dormant challenges” in the political, economic and social environment and helping escalate frictions among major powers.
Southeast Asian nations have been affected by the pandemic differently. The diverse region of 650 million people had a combined total of more than 138,000 confirmed cases as of late June.
The economic toll has been harsh, with ASEAN’s leading economies, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, facing one of their most severe recessions in decades.
“We noted with grave concern the human and socioeconomic costs caused by COVID-19 and remained committed to implementing targeted policies to instill confidence that ASEAN is at the forefront of this critical battle,” Vietnam said on behalf of the ASEAN states in a draft of the communique to be issued after the summit.
A high-priority project is the establishment of an ASEAN COVID-19 response fund that could be used to help member states purchase medical supplies and protective suits, with Thailand already pledging U.S. $100,000.
A regional stockpile of medical supplies has also been approved, and the group will undertake a study to be financed by Japan on the possibility of establishing an ASEAN center on public health emergencies, a senior Southeast Asian diplomat said.
Lingering disputes over the South China Sea, along with the plight of Rohingya Muslims from Burma who are languishing in crowded refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh, were among the thorny issues on the ASEAN agenda.
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has come under fire for what rival claimants say are aggressive actions in the disputed waters as countries are scrambling to deal with the viral outbreak. Vietnam protested in April after a Chinese coast guard ship rammed and sank a boat with eight fishermen off the Paracel Islands. The Philippines backed Vietnam and protested new territorial districts announced by the PRC in large portions of the sea.
“We underscored the importance of nonmilitarization and self-restraint in the conduct of all activities by claimants and all other states, which could further complicate the situation and escalate tensions in the South China Sea,” the draft ASEAN communique said.
