Vietnam's ASEAN Chairmanship Year has come to an end, with the nation successfully leading the association through a challenging year whilst striving to enhance its role in the region

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the opening
ceremony of the 36th ASEAN Summit

Throughout the year, under the theme of “Cohesive & Responsive”, ASEAN member states reached consensus relating to measures aimed at responding to challenges, including those brought about by the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

ASEAN foreign ministers participated in online meetings in early February during the initial stages of the pandemic as a means of ensuring that all members shared a common view.

A joint statement was duly issued identifying nine priorities for co-operation tasks, including the strengthening of co-ordination as a means of ensuring readiness to respond to COVID-19 and actively sharing information relating to pandemic developments.

Furthermore, ASEAN economic and defence ministers also released a joint statement on the need for partnership as part of fighting the pandemic, while an ASEAN military medical centre was also established.

Before the World Health Organisation (WHO) officially declared a pandemic in March, the nation in its role as ASEAN Chair issued a statement on the bloc’s response to COVID-19, in addition to holding several meetings to address the situation.

The country also worked to ramp up co-operation between the bloc and its partners, as well as other international organisations, in order to improve control of the spread of the epidemic.

ASEAN Secretary General Lim Lock Hoi hailed co-ordination between member countries, as well as the Vietnamese role in dealing with challenges, including those posed by COVID-19.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Thailand Don Pramudwinai, said the online Special ASEAN Summit and the Special ASEAN Plus Three Summit on COVID-19 were promptly convened in mid-April, followed by a number of online ministerial meetings between ASEAN and external partners. Holding these high-level engagements not only demonstrated the strong political will of the bloc and its external partners to collaborate for mutual benefits, but also testified to the convening power of ASEAN as a whole, he said.

Through the combined efforts of member countries over subsequent months, ASEAN leaders moved to adopt a number of initiatives aimed at tackling the risks of the pandemic at the 37th ASEAN Summit. This includes the launch of the ASEAN COVID-19 Response Fund, the ASEAN Regional Reserve of Medical Supplies (RRMS) for Public Health Emergencies, the ASEAN Strategic Framework for Public Health Emergencies, the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework (ACRF), the ASEAN Center for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases (ACPHEED), and the Declaration on an ASEAN Travel Corridor Arrangement Framework.

A network was also established in a bid to counter the spread of fake news within the bloc.

Moreover, hundreds of annual ASEAN meetings were also moved online, with 550 meetings held during the year, in addition to 20 summits, including the 36th and 37th Summits and 70 ministerial meetings. This switch was made swiftly and efficiently in an effort to ensure that agendas were fulfilled across all three fronts, including politics-security-defence, the economy, and culture and society.

A record 80 documents were granted approval, with a focus on building the ASEAN Community, promoting the mid-term review of the ASEAN Community Blueprint 2025, reviewing the ASEAN Charter, and developing an ASEAN Community Post-2025 Vision.

The joint efforts of the entire bloc in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic served as another highlight of the nation’s chairmanship in 2020, with the spirit of leaving no one behind at the forefront of efforts.

The signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership in November served to boost the central role and position of ASEAN in the region and the wider world, while regional connectivity was also strengthened.

In summary, 2020 marked a momentous year with a range of complex challenges, the majority of which were caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the country’s Chairmanship, ASEAN has been able to deal with them in both a practical and effective manner, whilst continuing to reinforce community-building efforts in a “Cohesive & Responsive” spirit to allow the bloc to be better prepared for uncertainties in the future.