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HANOI, April 12-- The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries have stood shoulder by shoulder with one another as well as with China to curb the spread of COVID-19, showing their strong determination and political commitment to battle the global pandemic. Since early this year, ASEAN countries have been holding a number of meetings, both offline and online, with the participation of high-ranking officials, including ministers and heads of state or government, to discuss measures to bolster coordination and cooperation within the block as well as with its partners, especially China on fighting against COVID-19. The Special ASEAN Summit and the Special ASEAN, China, Japan and South Korea (ASEAN Plus Three countries or 10+3) Summit on COVID-19 Response are scheduled to take place on April 14 in video conference, with the chair of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in his capacity as ASEAN Chair 2020, Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung told an online press conference Thursday in Hanoi. Heads of state or government of the 10 ASEAN member states, namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and those of the three countries, China, Japan and South Korea are expected to adopt two separate joint statements on COVID-19 response reaffirming their high commitment and determination in eliminating the pandemic's risks which threaten people's lives and socio-economic stabilization of the nations, Dung said. | 
