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NEAT MEMORANDUM No. 17
NETWORK OF EAST ASIAN THINK TANKS (NEAT)

I. INTRODUCTION
The Network of East Asia Think Tanks (NEAT) is track two of the ASEAN Plus Three(APT) that supports the goal of community building in East Asia. East Asian countries seek
to promote the welfare and well-being of its peoples by realizing the East Asian Vision ofPeace, Prosperity and Progress. To advance peace and prosperity in the region, the East Asia
community building process is to be based on universal values, including good governance,
the rule of law, democracy, human rights, international law and norms. East Asian countries
should promote these values as common goals.

Due to the Pandemic Covid-19, NEAT had to reschedule some activities for 2020 and foundout alternative mechanisms in organizing NEAT activities. Amidst the pandemic, NEAT
maintained its core activities:

1. by undertaking regular country coordinator meeting. NEAT Indonesia hosted the32nd NEAT Country Coordinators Meeting (CCM) on 18 November 2020 throughan online meeting organized from Jakarta, Indonesia. This is an agreeable mechanism
to circumvent the limitation of transnational mobility during the pandemic. NEAT
Indonesia wishes to express gratitude to NEAT members, the ASEAN Secretariat
and all meeting delegates for their generous supports and cooperation;

2. by conducting one Working Group (WG) meeting on East Asian Cooperation onEnhancing Inclusive, Resilient and Sustainable Connectivity beyond COVID-19 byNEAT Japan. The detail of the WG’s policy recommendations appears in Annex 1.
NEAT wishes to appreciate the respective members of NEAT Japan and participantsof the WG for their highly-valued efforts and contributions.

1FinalII. RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the activities in 2020, NEAT respectfully submits recommendations in thefollowing two areas for consideration of the APT leaders:

1. On East Asian Cooperation on Enhancing Inclusive, Resilient and Sustainable
Connectivity beyond COVID-19: to strengthen APT cooperation for physical,
institutional and people-to-people connectivity to not only overcome the negative socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19 but also rebuild the economy forward to a more
resilient, sustainable and inclusive growth path from the perspective of enhancing humansecurity. Detailed recommendations appear in Annex I.

2. On Pandemic and Public Health Emergencies: to support the establishment of theASEAN Center for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases (ACPHEED) andthe ASEAN Plus Three Reserve of Medical Supplies for Public Health Emergencies. The
roles of these centers should cover the development of APT pandemic early warning
system and the provision of affordable vaccines and medical supply among all APT
countries on equitable basis.

III. CONCLUSIONNEAT greatly appreciates serious consideration by the APT SOM, Ministers, and Leadersof the recommendations in this Memorandum. We reiterate our continued support to build asmarter and environmentally friendlier East Asian community.

2FinalANNEX I
1. Increase the resilience of connectivity to economic, natural, health and other adversity
from an integrated physical, institutional and social point of view. Address disparities
within and across countries to ensure that physical resilience of connectivity to various
types of adversity leads to social resilience and inclusiveness. Strengthen institutional
resilience to promote the uninterrupted sharing of knowledge and information.
2. Strengthen APT cooperation to respond effectively to the COVID-19 pandemic andpublic health emergencies in line with the “Special ASEAN Plus Three Summit onCoronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).” More specifically, support ASEAN's
initiatives on COVID-19 such as the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework andthe COVID-19 ASEAN Response Fund and initiate an East Asia cooperation framework
for Infectious Disease Control and Public Health to not only overcome COVID-19 but
also prepare for future pandemics including the establishment of early warning systems.
Harmonize rules for the accessibility and affordability of safe and effective vaccines
approved by national authorities and recognized by the international health community.
3. Enhance connectivity by investing in infrastructure with emphasis on quality,
particularly inclusiveness, resilience and sustainability, and in light of the nature of
public services. Maximize the positive economic, environmental, social anddevelopmental impact by pursuing quality infrastructure investment in line with the“G20 Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment” to ensure an efficient andeffective allocation of a limited amount of financial resources in advancing the postpandemic recovery going forward, as the pandemic challenges may lead to a smaller sizeof infrastructure investment.
4. Promote institutional connectivity by deepening economic integration in East Asia
through further trade and investment liberalization and by strengthening the resilienceand sustainability of supply chains to ensure the smooth movement of essential goods(particularly food, medical supplies and pharmaceuticals), services, capital, and people(particularly business persons and students) and information for a post-pandemic
economic recovery. Embark on air travel bubble arrangements within and beyond theAPT region in a safe and controlled manner and harmonize rules for cross-border travel.
Pursue minilateral approaches to promote connectivity to complement or reinforce theprinciples of globalization and the multilateral trading order.
5. Enhance APT cooperation to further trade facilitation with a view to reducing trade cost
and time by accelerating the implementation of the existing initiatives. In addition,eliminate NTMs, improve logistics services, harmonize standards and strengthen
customs cooperation to contribute to greater flows of goods and more resilient supply
chain connectivity.
6. Accelerate the digitalization of trade-related procedures for customs clearance, as it is aneffective measure to prevent the spread of the pandemic by minimizing physical contact
and to enhance competitiveness and efficiency by lessening transactions costs throughspeedier customs clearance and release of goods. Adopt Digital Economy Agreements(DEAs) between two or more economies in the APT region to establish enhanced digitaltrade rules and standards, promote digital economy cooperation and complement theexisting network of free trade agreements and other digital cooperation initiatives. Fully3Finalimplement and expand the existing regional mechanisms such as ASEAN Single
Window.
7. Provide capacity-building support for customs officials of CLMV to narrow the logisticgap and enable equitable development within ASEAN. Create Co-Special EconomicZones (C-SEZs) for the CLMV as a priority pilot project and embrace the CLMV in theglobal and regional supply chains through the linkage of the C-SEZs.
8. Reinforce sustainability as a guiding principle in fostering a blue economy (whichincludes sustainable fisheries and onshore/offshore aquaculture, elimination of illegal,
unreported and unregulated [IUU] fishing, blue tourism, renewable energy development,
low carbon maritime transport, and marine plastic elimination) and supporting a blue
recovery amid and beyond COVID-19 in East Asia, as a sustainable blue economy thatis also inclusive and resilient is one of the vehicles to support economic growth andenhance the well-being of people in the region. Conserve ocean and marine resources
and use ecosystems sustainably for all, including the present and future generations.
9. Build institutional networks of research institutes, universities and think tanks for East
Asia to promote a sustainable, resilient and inclusive socio-economy through innovation,
partnership, and multi-stakeholder involvement. Utilize such networks to identify ways
to improve the functions of the existing economic, social, environmental, health, andnatural disaster management systems and advance human resource development andhuman-centered policy-making. Adopt cross-sectoral, trans-spatial, interdisciplinary,and science-based approaches to overcome sectoral boundaries and focus on capacity
building support for less advanced ASEAN member countries such as CLMV.

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