Philippine President Duterte thanks China for supporting ASEAN's pandemic response

MANILA, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday thanked China for its support in the pandemic response of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), particularly "by making life-saving vaccines global public goods."

Participating in the 24th ASEAN-China summit held online, Duterte said that dynamic ASEAN-China cooperation puts both sides in a formidable position to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, address climate change and manage geopolitical issues.

Duterte also joined the 38th and 39th ASEAN summits and related high-level meetings that kick-started on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Brunei via virtual conference, with fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and promoting economic recovery high on the agenda.

Speaking at the ASEAN summit, Duterte said that ASEAN's road to recovery from COVID-19 will be long and challenging as the region is still reeling from the impact of the pandemic.

The Philippine president emphasized that ASEAN must ensure the phased and comprehensive implementation of the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework and called for the immediate establishment of the ASEAN Center on Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases.

Aside from Brunei, ASEAN also includes Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.