Region shows solidarity in anti-virus fight

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus again reminds us that this is an era in which a regional or national issue can easily evolve into a global one. In a highly interdependent world, countries must join hands to fight a public health incident of such magnitude.

Hence, it is heartening to see that the foreign ministers of China and the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are meeting in Vientiane, Laos, from Wednesday to Friday to strengthen regional cooperation to address the public health threat. It is expected that they will build upon their existing national measures with an orchestrated response and collective actions.

China and ASEAN accumulated useful experience in this respect with their cooperation during the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak in 2002-03.

With China fighting an all-out war to contain the outbreak, people from various countries have expressed confidence and offered assistance. In a statement released on Saturday by Vietnam, which is chairman of the regional bloc this year, ASEAN expressed its "solidarity and heartfelt support" for China, as well as other countries fighting the virus.

The statement also affirmed ASEAN countries would maintain an open-door policy with quarantine work conducted and coordinated at the border gates of the member countries.

Epidemics know no boundaries, and the novel coronavirus, like any highly contagious disease, is a common enemy of humanity. That well explains why the cruise ships Diamond Princess, docked in Japan's Yokohama Port, and Westerdam, docked in Cambodia's sea port of Sihanoukville, have drawn global concerns.

While the Diamond Princess has contributed a large proportion of Japan's confirmed cases, one passenger onboard the Westerdam also tested positive last week. Now that passengers onboard both ships have begun to disembark, it has raised concerns about the further spread of the virus.

In Southeast Asia, the alarm was already sounding, as six out of the 10 ASEAN members have reported a combined total of 154 confirmed infections, according to Tuesday's World Health Organization report.

Although China is bringing the outbreak under control, vigilance is still needed. The special foreign ministers' meeting in Laos will help shore up regional solidarity and confidence that the virus can be contained, as it will enhance coordination at the regional level for a synchronized approach.

In contrast to the rising trend of unilateralism and isolationism in some parts of the world, more and more countries, China and ASEAN members included, are harnessing support for multilateralism as they know it is the best way to protect the well-being of their peoples.