Author: Sorpong Peou, Ryerson University and Emma-Jane Ni, McGill University
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Cambodia is enjoying considerable success compared to its Southeast Asian neighbours despite its relatively poor healthcare system — recording just 240 cases and no deaths by early August. While critics argue that these remarkably low numbers are due to underreporting, the government’s restriction measures for public safety have genuinely succeeded in containing the pandemic. Its crackdowns on the opposition, on the other hand, remain problematic.
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Author: Hsien-Li Tan, NUS
When COVID-19 cases first appeared in the ASEAN region early in 2020, there were fears that public health systems would be overwhelmed. Responses around the region have varied. After decisive action — and missteps — in the initial months, Vietnam, Thailand, Brunei, Malaysia, and Singapore are now cautiously relaxing restrictions while working to avert a second wave. Indonesia and the Philippines continue to see significantly higher infection and death rates, leading to strong criticism against the Jokowi and Duterte administrations.
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Author: Kelly Gerard, UWA
Economic crises have disproportionately negative effects on women and these gendered impacts linger long after markets recover. This was observable during the 1997 Asian financial crisis and it is being experienced again with COVID-19 — but far more acutely.
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Authors: Alistair DB Cook and Christopher Chen, RSIS
COVID-19 is severely impacting the humanitarian system. It has forced countries to focus on containing the pandemic with national lockdown measures — hindering humanitarian action and denying aid to many affected communities in the Asia Pacific. But countries in the region have begun negotiations to normalise international travel, with Australia and New Zealand being the first to initiate bilateral discussions over the establishment of a ‘Trans-Tasman bubble’ and a ‘humanitarian corridor’ to the Pacific during the pandemic. Read more…
Author: Pascal Tanguay, Bangkok
In May 2020, authorities in Myanmar seized a whopping 3700 litres of liquid fentanyl — equivalent to about 30 bathtubs’ worth — alongside other drugs, precursors and weaponry. The lethal drug is increasingly being found cut into common illicit substances as the opioid epidemic rages in North America and Europe. 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, its growing presence in Asian illicit drug markets will likely prove disastrous.
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Author: Lili Yan Ing, ERIA and Yessi Vadila, Indonesian Ministry of Trade
COVID-19 is a wake-up call for the world. The pandemic has brought some of the worst economic impacts since World War II. While some Eastern countries seem much better prepared than their Western peers in terms of handling infections, testing and mitigating the pandemic’s economic impacts, the poorest countries will be hit hardest. Read more…
Authors: Peter Drysdale, ANU and Chatib Basri, University of Indonesia
As the world contemplates the savage impact of the COVID-19 virus on the global economy, there’s need to seize initiative in global cooperation to escape the slump caused by the health lockdown. International economic cooperation will be vital to managing the crisis and to supporting the recovery through trade, stabilising markets, faster reopening of business supply chains and international travel. Without it, the world is facing a prolonged health crisis and lasting economic stagnation on a scale not seen since the Great Depression.
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Authors: Fatimah Abolanle Odusote, Kiat Wah Ng, Lida No and Alfred M Wu, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
How developing countries handle the headwinds of COVID-19 will have substantial implications for the global joint effort to fight the virus and boost post-COVID-19 recovery. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), South America has now become a COVID-19 epicentre, raising more questions around how the developing world can endure the attack of COVID-19. Read more…
Author: Paola Subacchi, Queen Mary University of London and University of Bologna
Even before the outbreak of COVID-19, the level of global debt was high by historic standards. According to the Institute of International Finance, by late 2019 global debt (including private and public debt) was more than US$250 trillion. Public debt, in particular, has increased everywhere since the global financial crisis of 2008.
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Author: Murray Hiebert, Bower Group Asia
COVID-19 has been tough on the health and economies of Southeast Asia, but the region’s fledgling quasi-democracies are also under threat. Efforts to control the virus are giving authoritarian rulers the perfect cover to adopt draconian levers to rein in their opponents and critics. Read more…
Author: M Niaz Asadullah, University of Malaya
Many ASEAN nations saw a sharp decline in the number of coronavirus fatalities after more than a month in lockdown. New infections in Thailand dropped to single-digit figures and Vietnam has already reopened its economy. The Philippines and Malaysia have conditionally permitted most sectors to resume business.
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Author: Tim Buckley, Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world. It is a truly global threat, ignoring national borders and domestic politics. But this pandemic highlights the need for a global response to a second key global threat: climate change. It is now more important than ever to listen to the advice of experts before it’s too late. Read more…
Author: Hoang Oanh, Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam
The COVID-19 pandemic is demonstrating that a single disease can cause more catastrophic damage than wars and conflicts. The crisis makes it painfully clear that a transnational threat requires a transnational response. But international cooperation has been mostly limited to the sharing of medical equipment and expertise. Multilateral efforts have been impeded by the return of nationalism and great power rivalry. Read more…
Author: Hunter Marston, ANU
The worst of the COVID-19 pandemic may be yet to come for many Southeast Asian countries, though some, such as Vietnam, have seen relative success in containing the virus. Read more…
Author: Benjamin Tak-Yuen Chan, Open University of Hong Kong
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected 187 countries and territories, with urban regions bearing most of the brunt. A staggering 60 per cent of all confirmed cases in China are in Wuhan and close to 35 per cent of US cases are in the state of New York. Metropolises generally register a higher caseload due to their large population size and density as well as the prevalence of testing.
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