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Wrapping up the year 2020, these summits are of great significance in determining a suitable position for ASEAN in the post-COVID-19 world. Leaders of ASEAN member states agreed on many drastic and practical measures to accelerate cooperation in coping with and overcoming challenges, including the pandemic, while maintaining the momentum of cooperation and proposing major directions to help the ASEAN Community develop more and more strongly, truly becoming the nucleus of the region, with the people placed at the centre.

At the conferences, ASEAN leaders reviewed the situation of ASEAN cooperation, and particularly spoke highly of Vietnam’s 2020 ASEAN chairmanship in coordinating and leading the bloc to maintain its cooperation momentum across the three community pillars, in an effort to support people and businesses to soon address the consequences of the disease and stabilise the socio-economic life in member countries. ASEAN leaders unanimously released the Mid-term Review of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 Blueprints and issued the Hanoi Declaration on the post-2025 ASEAN Community Vision, while reviewing the realisation of the ASEAN Charter and reaching a consensus on associating sub-regional development with the common development of ASEAN and implementing initiatives to enhance ASEAN’s image and identity in the region.

To realise the dual task of combating the pandemic and promoting economic recovery, the leaders adopted the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework and the Implementation Plan, the ASEAN Declaration on an ASEAN Travel Corridor Arrangement Framework, and the ASEAN Strategic Framework for Public Health Emergencies, while officially announcing the establishment of the ASEAN Regional Reserve of Medical Supplies, promoting the operation of the ASEAN COVID-19 Response Fund to effectively support the region’s anti-pandemic needs, and agreeing on a plan to set up the ASEAN Regional Centre on Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases. Countries voiced their belief that these measures would help people regain confidence, enhance competitiveness, and restore the disrupted supply chains and services, towards gradual and sustainable recovery in the medium and long run. PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc announced that Vietnam would contribute US$100,000 to the ASEAN COVID-19 Response and pledged to contribute medical equipment and supplies worth US$5 million to the ASEAN Regional Reserve of Medical Supplies.

ASEAN leaders and partners affirmed the prerequisite for maintaining ASEAN’s solidarity, consistency and central role as well as enhancing the bloc’s resilience, promoting multilateralism and upholding the basic principles in the ASEAN Charter and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. In addition, ASEAN consistently demonstrated its principle stance and was strongly committed to building the East Sea (South China Sea), which accommodates the arterial maritime route of the region and the world, into a sea of ​​peace, stability, security and safety, where differences and disputes are resolved by peaceful means and laws are respected and observed. Countries agreed that ASEAN should push forward the creation of a favourable environment for dialogue, cooperation and trust building efforts, including ensuring the negotiation of a binding and effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) in line with international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982).

Constantly expanding and deepening relations with its partners, ASEAN has agreed to expand the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) with the admission of Cuba, Colombia and South Africa, thus bringing the total number of participating countries to 43. Some highlights of the ASEAN Summits with partners are the elevation of the Mekong-Republic of Korea cooperation to a strategic partnership for the people, prosperity and peace, and the launch of the ASEAN Smart Logistics Network with the first project being the ICD Vinh Phuc Logistics Centre. On this occasion, the ASEAN Women Leaders’ Summit took place for the first time, offering a platform for representation of women leaders from countries to directly raise their voices on the role of women in promoting sustainable development in the post-COVID-19 world.

An outstanding success of the 37th ASEAN Summit and related summits is the successful signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) after eight years of negotiations. The new cooperation frameworks in the RCEP will contribute to accelerating the process of building the ASEAN Economic Community 2025. PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc expressed his hopes that the RCEP would soon be ratified and put into force by member countries in the near future, contributing to supporting the post-pandemic economic recovery process, bringing common prosperity to people and businesses in member countries. This is great and prideworthy achievement of ASEAN, with its central role, joining partner countries to lay the foundation for a new period of comprehensive, long-term and forward-looking cooperation, in line with the level of development and bringing benefits to all countries in the region. For Vietnam, the signing of the RCEP at the 37th ASEAN Summit and related summits has affirmed the country’s increasing role and position in the international arena.

As the Chair of ASEAN in 2020, in the spirit of “cohesion and proactive adaptation”, Vietnam respects the solidarity and valuable support from ASEAN member states, partners and friends that will help the ASEAN Community to steadily overcome challenges, maintain linkage momentum, consolidate ASEAN’s central role, and build a peaceful, friendly, cooperative and stable Southeast Asia region. With the successful conclusion of the 37th ASEAN Summit and related summits and the closure of the ASEAN Chairmanship Year 2020, Vietnam believes that, with the spirit of solidarity and self-reliance, ASEAN will steadily rise above challenges, moving towards a prosperous life for more than 600 million people and effectively contributing to peace, stability and development in the region and the world.

The blockage of the Suez Canal last month, the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia, has once again urged Vietnamese agencies to rethink the pros and cons in development of the railway network to gain bigger future benefits.

Vietnam Railways (VNR) has been awaiting development of the new Lao Cai-Hanoi-Haiphong railway route connecting to Lach Huyen International Gateway Seaport, which helps enhance connection in the East-West Corridor and between Vietnam and China.

VNR deputy director Phan Quoc Anh told VIR, “The project has remained on paper for months. We expect that the study will be fast-tracked so that we can tap into global growing trade. Many regional countries have developed their railway networks, while Vietnam’s remains in standstill.”

Anh and other VNR leaders feel anxious about the current situation, especially when import-export companies in Vietnam and other countries are seeking to diversify their means of transport. Railways are receiving renewed focus following the six-day blockage of the Suez Canal last month by a container ship.

The VNR leader noted, “We are ready to welcome more goods on the Asia-Europe railway route. VNR now accommodates 800,000 tonnes on international connecting trains annually, while our capacity is 2.5 million tonnes.”

However, whether the giant can tap into the advantage remains uncertain as it needs a policy evolution to enable VNR to call for private investment.

Vietnamese railways are still less attractive to importers and exporters, although railway transport times between Vietnam and the EU are quicker and more stable than transport by sea – for instance, the time from Vietnam to Germany is about 29-30 days. Railway transport costs are generally higher than sea transport, driven by unfavourable infrastructure which somewhat partly increases its logistics costs.

The country’s railway network was built over 100 years ago. Dang Dinh Thao, former head of the Institute for Economics and Development Studies, said that the country’s railways have always used diesel technology, while others use electrification or even high-speed electromagnetic trains.

Railways in China and European countries have designed tracks of around 1.43m in width, while that of Vietnam are only one metre. Consequently, importers and exporters have to suffer extra costs of loading and unloading for transit in China. And therefore, few choose railways.

Moreover, a lack of links to seaports, industrial and economic zones is also another problem, preventing the railway sector from attracting customers. The sector now only has one route connecting Hoang Dieu Berth of Haiphong city and the other to Cai Lan Port in the northern province of Quang Ninh.

VNR has been attempting in vain for years to deal with infrastructure weaknesses by calling for private investors to join its upgrading plan and developing warehouses and inland container depots (ICDs). However, legal barriers are as ever impeding the next steps.

As ruled, VNR cannot make any investments or call for funding in the network because of the state asset status. To solve the problem, the giant proposed in a draft master plan in line with Decree No.46/2018/ND-CP issued in 2018 governing the management and use of railway infrastructure assets, for the state to hand over station squares, warehouses, ICDs, and others to it to own, use, and develop with assets to be recorded as state capital contribution to the operator.

The draft, expected to be released in 2019, has yet to be completed. While waiting for this, VNR has been suffering as all investment plans and cooperation with domestic and international private partners have been suspended.

“We earlier signed an agreement with Saigon Newport Corporation to develop ICDs and warehouses at Song Than, Dieu Tri, Yen Vien, Dong Anh, and Dong Dang stations. Some Russian and Kazakhstani companies also sought opportunities in warehouse development in Dong Dang and Lao Cai. All are on paper,” Anh admitted.

Now VNR is facing further disappointment because of the slow pace of drafting the master plan. Vietnam and several countries have consistently planned to develop the Asia-Europe railway route connecting Vietnam, China, Kazakhstan, and Central Asia to Russia and the EU. Years have passed, but true connections have yet to be kicked off and the track size issue among other things have yet to be addressed.

Elsewhere, Laos is tapping into the opportunity of growing trade flows between Asia and Europe by developing the Kunming-Vientiane railway route to connect with the EU.

Currently, all imports and exports from Vietnam to European countries by rail have to transit in China via Lao Cai and Dong Dang railway stations. According to VNR statistics, Vietnam’s railway transport of goods from Vietnam to China and other countries reached nearly 900,000 tonnes in 2020, up about 10 per cent on-year.

In 2021, VNR plans to strengthen transport of cold containers by rail to China and third countries.

VIR