ASEAN Travel Bubble to be Announced
The ASEAN summit was held on November 12, as leaders sought to revitalize the ASEAN economy through a ‘travel corridor’. (WikiCommons)
The 37th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit was virtually hosted by Vietnam this Thursday, November 12, amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The conversation largely centered around the ASEAN Comprehensive Recover Framework and its implementation plan. The program aims to serve as a community exit strategy as Southeast Asia looks to recover from the pandemic. Most prominently, the ASEAN Travel Corridor Arrangement, in which member states aim to facilitate the safe reopening of essential business travel in the region, has been highly prioritized.
The corridor would establish temporary fast lanes and health checks upon departure and arrival to better facilitate travel between ASEAN countries. Currently, there are only a few independent bilateral travel agreements. This includes the green-lane scheme between Singapore and Malaysia and an additional one between Singapore and Indonesia. These plans mean that business and official travelers have the ability to cross borders without being subjected to the recommended 14-day quarantine.
Despite these exceptions, ASEAN countries are largely closed to each other, which has resulted in notable economic losses for all. The region heavily relies on the tourism industry and foreign trade, meaning that revitalizing international travel is essential to full economic recovery.
However, ASEAN countries are at varying levels of recovery from the pandemic. Indonesia is struggling with the largest COVID-19 outbreak relative to other ASEAN countries, with a total of 448,118 confirmed cases as of November 11. On the other hand, Thailand and Vietnam continue to report single-digit cases of COVID-19.
"Enabling movement of people in the region will help drive economic growth," Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said at the summit.
While the plan has yet to be officially announced, Indonesian President Joko Widodo stated that an ASEAN declaration would be issued soon. He expressed hope that the travel corridor would be set up within the first quarter of 2021.