36th ASEAN virtual summit spotlight on coronavirus fund, South China Sea feud

New Delhi: The 36th summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was held on Friday (June 26, 2020) at Hanoi in Vietnam where the member nations dicussed measures to deal with the crises induced by the novel coronavirus pandemic. The South China Sea conflicts too took the spotlight.

The summit, which was supposed to be held on June 27-28, was canceled and was switched to a one-day virtual summit. Vietnam is hosting the meeting as it assumed Asean’s chairmanship this year with the theme “Cohesive and Responsive Asean”. 

Regional travel restrictions and health risks delayed meetings while the ceremonial spectacles, group handshakes and photo-ops, the trademark of the 10-nation bloc's annual summit, had to be done away.

In a draft communique, Vietnam on behalf of ASEAN states, said, "We recognised the significant cost and unprecedented challenges to the region and the world caused by the coronavirus disease pandemic."

"We noted with grave concerns the human and socio-economic 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," it said.

An ASEAN COVID-19 response fund will be established at high-priority which could be used to help member states purchase medical supplies and protective suits. 

Several countries have pledged monetary contributions, Thailand pledged a USD 100,000 contribution and ASEAN partners, including China, Japan and South Korea, are expected to announce soon after the terms of the fund are finalized.

Also, a regional stockpile of medical supplies has also been proposed and the group will undertake a study to be financed by Japan on the possibility of establishing an ASEAN center on public health emergencies, said a diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The South China Sea dispute involving Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei has pitted the four nations against China, who has been making terroitorial claims in the region.

"We underscored the importance of non-militarisation 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," read the draft communique.

China has come under fire for what rival claimants say are aggressive actions in the disputed waters while countries scrambled to deal with the viral outbreaks. 

The US too has lashed out at China for its actions, which the latter has denied calling the accusation of 'exploiting the intense preoccupation with the pandemic to advance its territorial claims' as sheer nonsense.