Secretary-General of ASEAN Dato Lim Jock Hoi said the two Summits aimed to increase coordination and commitment by all stakeholders to support a whole-of-government and whole-of-health-system approach to a stronger regional response in mitigating the impact of this pandemic. He said the Summits also reflect ASEAN and Plus Three Dialogue Partners’ leadership in forging a regional response to complement national and global measures against COVID-19.

Australian experts said the COVID-19 pandemic poses both challenges and opportunities for Vietnam, the ASEAN Chair for 2020, to promote cooperation within the association in responding the pandemic.

"I think Vietnam has some advantages to be ASEAN Chair, compared to some other ASEAN member states. First, the Vietnamese government has a capacity to play a role of the Chair when COVID-19 hits," said Dr. Malcolm Cook, a Senior Fellow at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. 

"At the moment, it looks like Vietnam is not being badly hit by the COVID-19 crisis. I guess the Vietnamese state has, again, more capability to focus on its role and responsibility of being ASEAN Chair," he noted. 

Japan’s former Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Katsuhito Asano said the Vietnamese government has implemented effective countermeasures against the pandemic, setting a shining example for other countries.

Lao Deputy Foreign Minister Thongphane Savanphet hailed Vietnam’s leading role in building the ASEAN Community and focusing on ASEAN’s relations with partners and international organizations.

Grigory Lokshin of the Centre for Vietnam and ASEAN Studies under the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Far Eastern Studies, said Vietnam’s measures to boost solidarity within ASEAN center on ASEAN’s role in promoting peace and security in the East Sea.