(Draft Prepared by NEAT Korea)

Report of the NEAT Working Group Meeting“East Asia Cooperation and Human Security
in the Post COVID-19 Era”
23rd July 2021
Rationale
The COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020 requires multifaced andmultidimensional response measures for its devastating and complicated nature.
It resulted in more than 250 million confirmed cases and 4.5 million deaths innearly every country on earth as of now(mid-August). To prevent the spread of
the COVID-19 virus, most countries had to close their borders and even block theinter-regional movements of people within a country. The world of so-calledinterdependence and globalization quickly gave its way to a world of nationalism
and selfishness and thus, the practice of cooperation between and among
countries worked only in a limited manner.
From the beginning, lack of PCR testing kits and mecical instruments
seriously undermined the capacity of many developing (and even developed)
countries to cope with the situation and still paucity of vaccination prevails mostregional countries except for a handful of vaccine affluent states. Under suchgrave threats of public health and human lives, huge negative impacts of thepandemic readily spread out to every important aspects of human life. Indeed, it
is no exaggeration to say that the life of no single human being on earth was
absolutely free from the devasatating impacts of the pandemic.
What is more grave is that biological/medical experts agree that COVID-19
will turn into an endemic and outbreak repeatedly with numerous variants.
Recent surge of confirmed cases in various parts of the world marked by thespread of the more infectious Delta variant implies that the pandemic will not be
over and we should hammer out the ways to coexist with the COVID-19.

The efforts and cooperation of ASEAN+3 countries towards the constructionof an East Asian community(EAC) have been carried out in various fields such as
economy, socio- culture, and political security, bringing about notableachievements. Restricted by the acute power politics between the Northeast
Asian states, non-traditional security issues, instead of traditional ones, haveattracted increasing attentions from the mid-2000s. In 2005, the leaders of theAPT shared concerns on the various non-traditional security challenges inc
luding natural disasters, terrorism, maritime security, transnational crime, health security (in line with the outbreak of SARS and avian influenza), andenergy security. They acknowledged that the APT framework was a niceplatform for the cooperations to counter the challenges.
The Corona crisis, again, has alerted East Asian countries to pay increased
attention to human security issues. The theme of the working group meeting, e.g.,“East Asia Cooperation and Human Security in the Post Covid-19 Era” istimely and appropriately reflects the urgent needs of the times. The lessons wehave learned from the past experiences of struggling against the COVID-19
pandemic made it clear that the pandemic requires multilevel - local, national,regional, and global - response measures and that the ASEAN+3 can provide anice cooperative mechanism for East Asia to enhance human security in the post
COVID-19 era.
On Discussion
Participants of the Working Group suggested sharp obaservations, interesting
analyses and discussions, and insightful policy recommendations to cope withthe pandemic. Since the corona pandemic has had a significant impact on such awide array of human life and social relations, each speakers selected a variety oftopics. They range from conceptual bases of human security in the ASEAN andEast Asian context to the superpower competition in the region, economic
impasse, and gender discrimination, etc.
Building on an Asian aphorism that 'a crisis is an opportunity', a viewpointthat the pandemic crisis is a great opportunity to revive the idea of pursuing East
Asian community, which has faded into an old-fashioned ideals amid the recent
highly acute regional superpower competitions and strong nationalism, hassuggested. It also views the pandemic as a chance to realize the ideal of humansecurity, i.e., “freedom from want” and “freedom from fear.” Discussants
expressed their sympathy for the viewpoint.
The WG members acknowleged that regional cooperation is essential in
responding to the threats of the virus, encouraging economic recovery,
mitigating the adversities of the socially under-priviledged people. Due todifferences in geographic features, population size, level of economic
development, political system, medical infrastructure, ITC facility, and manyother aspects, the pandemic is experienced differently by APT countries. Someare hit very hard, threatening the public health infrastructure into the verge ofcollapse, while some others successfully keep the confirmed cases consistently
low, at least for now. While policies to mitigate the pandemic are similar,implementations as well as the effectiveness of policies varies. Generally, theleast developed, poorest, and weakest countries tend to be affected in severest
manner.
As impact varies considerably from country to country, it also varies within acountry from sector to sector. The poorer and more vulnerable social groups tend
to be severely affected. For example, female tend to be affected more negatively
than male. Job security and income, double burden, education, and gender based
violence, as well as various mental and physical health problems undermine
female's quality of life further.
International hardship such as the strategic competition between China andthe United States will have various effects on East Asia's response andpreparedness to pandemic. Even in the serious situation of the Corona crisis, theinternational community may face the problem of leadership, which makes it
difficult to respond to other crises facing mankind, such as economy, climatechange, and has the potential to further expand the damage from them.
The APT governments need to work closely together. It is important torecognize that no one is safe when not everyone is safe. The followings are key
recommendations to promote APT cooperation in responding to the COVID-19
pandemic as well as possible future pandemics, and in supporting postpandemic recovery in APT member countries. Employing the concept of humansecurity will play a guiding roles not only in looking for effective responses to thevirus, but in paving the ways for enhancing readiness to future pandemic.

Recommendations
It is acknowleged that the cooperative spirit of ASEAN+3 needs to be revived
and applied to engage in transcending state-centric and nationalist power
politics and to enhance mutual understanding and common response. Buildingon the strengthened solidarity among APT countries, political will andcommitment for stronger regional cooperation in responding to the public healthas well as economic crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic need to be demonstrated.
In order to enhance the effectiveness of East Asian states' response to thelasting pandemic, exiting cooperative mechanisms must enhance their capacity
to protect the human security of East Asian people. Mechanisms ensuring
adequate supply and equal access to vaccine and sharing medical instruments
need to be installed and the investment in the public health capacity of theASEAN countries are necessary. From a longer perpective, East Asia needs todevelop its own regional institutions, processes and protocols to protect andrespond rapidly to future pandemics.
Achieving such objectives are precipitated by⚫ strengthening information sharing among APT member countries to ensure
faster learning and implementation of best practices of the successful cases.
⚫ upgrading the effectiveness of existing cooperation mechanisms andframeworks such as ASEAN COVID-19 Response Fund, ASEAN Comprehensive
Recovery Framework and ASEAN Regional Reserve of Medical Supplies for
Public Health Emergency (RRMS).
⚫ developing protocols and procedures at the regional level, such as: (i)regional standard of transparency in pandemic situations, (ii) regional protocol
on border closure and lockdowns and (iii) regional protocol on migrant people
protection during pandemic.
⚫ enhancing preparedness for future pandemic by- establishing a framework of institutional readiness for APT countries tointerface with WHO and International Red Cross in the wake of future
pandemics.
- trying to link up all national Red Crosses and Red Crescents in APT.
- expediting the establishment of ASEAN Regional Center On Public Health
Emergencies And Emerging Diseases as a central body for pandemic
preparedness.
While ASEAN officially adopted the notion of human security in developing theinstitutional mechanisms to cope with the pandemic, ASEAN+3 has not yet. For
that purpose, WG suggest that APT need to:⚫ acknowledge that current challenges of COVID-19 pandemic as a humansecurity issue. It should be recognized that the complexity and interconnectednature of the pandemic require human security approach for further aligned
regional responses and prevention measures by the ATP processes.
⚫ intensify efforts to enhance adequate financing to mitigate the health,economic, social, political, security and psychological impacts, which diverts
recourses from arms and military spending to healthcare, social services andpeacebuilding.
⚫ set up an “APT reserve of essential medical supplies”⚫ task the APT Ministers related to human security to develop the “APT
Human Security Initiative” to ensure non-discrimination, transparency, respectfor human dignity, climate commitment. Special attention should be paid to theneeds and vulnerabilities of the underprivileged such as women, indigenouspeoples, refugees, stateless, and asylum seekers, etc.