Dr Hoo Chiew Ping, Senior Lecturer in Strategic Studies and International Relations under the National University of Malaysia (R) during the interview (Photo: VNA)Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – EmbracingASEAN has internationalised Vietnam, while Vietnam has also contributed toASEAN’s miracle, said a Malaysian scholar on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Vietnam’s admission to the ASEAN (July 28, 1995).
In an interview grantedto the Vietnam News Agency’s reporters in Malaysia, Dr Hoo Chiew Ping, SeniorLecturer in Strategic Studies and International Relations under the NationalUniversity of Malaysia (UKM), said that since joining ASEAN, Vietnam has beenable to maximise the benefits of the ASEAN platforms.
They include regional integration, regionalidentification and the political reconciliation which resulted in Vietnam’seventual successful market and economic development, both at the intra-ASEANand ASEAN dialogue partner levels.
Dr Hoo Chiew Ping (Photo: VNA)She emphasised that over the decades,Vietnam has been a staunch supporter of ASEAN institutional mechanisms andcontributed to strengthening strategic partnership with ASEAN dialogue partnersincluding the US, China, Japan, India, the Republic of Korea, and the European Union.
The scholar added that the pandemic revealsVietnam’s strength in health security governance and this has successfullycemented the country’s position not only within ASEAN but also a model forother regional governments around the world.
She went on to say that as ASEAN Chair,Vietnam is expected to encourage other members to invest more trust into theintra-ASEAN cooperation, as the region will be a leading pandemic responsemodel that is to recover swiftly compared to others.
For his part, Dr Ngeow Chow Bing, Directorof the Institute of China Studies at the University of Malaya said that Vietnamjoining ASEAN signified a very significant change, as it began the process inwhich ASEAN was bringing Southeast Asian countries within a single order.
In 2020, Vietnam has been assuming the ASEANChairmanship in the face of COVID-19 pandemic posing detrimental impacts on theregion and the world.
“Vietnam has done remarkably well incontrolling the pandemic and should be congratulated so,” he said.
Dr Ngeow Chow Bing, Director of the Institute of China Studies at the University of Malaya (Photo: VNA)As the ASEAN Chair this year, the countryhas to suddenly prepare for the rescheduling and many other unexpecteddevelopments, and has been coping with the uncertainties. All ASEAN countriesappreciate the enormous responsibilities that Vietnam has to undertake at thismoment, Dr Ngeow Chow Bing noted./.
