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SINGAPORE: Singapore will contribute US $ 100,000 to the ASEAN Response Fund for COVID-19 as the region continues to work together to combat the pandemic, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Thursday (November 12).
Speaking at the ASEAN Summit, which takes place via video conference, Mr. Lee also called the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) later in the week a “great achievement.”
READ: Southeast Asian leaders kick off ASEAN summit amid ‘major power rivalries’
“RCEP affirms ASEAN’s collective commitment to economic integration and to an inclusive, open and rules-based multilateral trading system,” Lee said.
The trade pact includes the 10-member ASEAN bloc, along with China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and, until last year, India, which withdrew from the deal.
READ: Asia Pacific leaders to sign RCEP trade deal amid US electoral uncertainty.
VACCINES AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY
“COVID-19 has been the defining challenge of 2020,” Lee said in his address to ASEAN leaders on Thursday morning, describing it as a “turbulent year.”
ASEAN member states, like many other countries, continued to grapple with new waves of infection and the economic impact of the pandemic, he said.
“Under the skillful leadership of Vietnam, ASEAN has played an important role in helping us make steady progress in fighting the pandemic,” he said, citing how member states helped each other to repatriate citizens stranded abroad.
Mr. Lee highlighted the establishment of the ASEAN Coordinating Council Working Group on Public Health Emergencies to lead the regional response, as well as the creation of the ASEAN Regional Medical Supplies Reserve and the ASEAN Response Fund. COVID-19 that Singapore is contributing to.
“Singapore recognizes the importance of these mechanisms,” he said.
READ: PM Lee to attend ASEAN Summit; COVID-19, RCEP on the agenda
The ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework and the Strategic Framework on Public Health Emergencies, which is under discussion, will also strengthen the bloc’s readiness to combat future pandemics, he added.
An immediate area where ASEAN should work together to mitigate the long-term impact of the pandemic is to ensure the “equitable, consistent and affordable” supply of vaccines once they are available, Lee said.
Affirming Singapore’s belief in “vaccine multilateralism” and support for global vaccine initiatives, Mr. Lee noted that many ASEAN member states and partners were members of such facilities.
READ: Global Cooperation Needed to Accelerate COVID-19 Vaccine Development, Ensure ‘Affordable and Fair’ Access: DPM Heng
“Our external partners, as well as our ASEAN member states, are developing many leading vaccine candidates. We must work with them to facilitate the production and distribution of vaccines to meet the needs of our region, ”he said.
Regarding the economy, Lee asked the regional bloc to “redouble its efforts” to improve its competitiveness in the post-coronavirus world.
Initiatives such as the ASEAN Connectivity Master Plan 2025, the ASEAN Smart Cities Network, and the recently launched ASEAN Customs Transit System “can catalyze our recovery and allow us to make full use of technology as we adapt. to new ways of living and doing business in the post -COVID World, ”he said.
REGIONAL TENSIONS
Mr. Lee said ASEAN will continue to face difficult challenges in the future, adding that “great power rivalry” was not absent in the region.
“In fact, the recent tensions between the United States and China have put the region under further strain and have tested the centrality and unity of ASEAN,” he said.
“However, ASEAN can also make a modest contribution to greater mutual trust and cooperation among major powers. Our regional architecture is open and inclusive by design, with ASEAN at its center.
“We must uphold our value proposition of providing a neutral platform for countries to work together on regional and global challenges such as fighting terrorism, cybersecurity and cross-border haze pollution,” he said.
This week’s ASEAN Summit and related summits are expected to be the last on the ASEAN calendar this year, before Vietnam hands over the presidency of the regional bloc to Brunei.
