Summary: Health minister of Singapore, Ong Ye Kung, has assessed and come to the conclusion that the Southeast Asian region is ‘fast stabilising’ with COVID-19. Countries including Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam are being adjusted from category three to two. Countries including Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines and Thailand are being adjusted from category four to three. Travel opportunities in the region are also starting to open up. This region has faced major fatality in the region and numbers are finally starting to point in a better direction. This is very meaningful for the area as they have faced lots of economic and personal loss. Vaccinated travel passes are also becoming available, providing hope for the far from flourishing tourism industries.
Analysis: I think this provides a little glimmer of hope that was well needed for citizens of the region. Southeast Asia was one of the most harshly affected areas of the globe when it comes to the pandemic. It provides some hope for the opening of borders with minimal risk of outbreaks. As vaccination rates rise, it’s really important to see some payoff for all the money invested into global health. A long, stressful phase of the pandemic is starting to come to an end in a region that has showed many difficulties in addressing it.
How does this relate to IR: Global health is extremely relevant to International relations because of its social, political and economical effects. If the COVID-19 pandemic had not occurred, we would be in a very different type of world then we are today. Global health is a multinational affair, and Southeast Asias progress required a lot of cooperation on the part of ASEAN. It is essential to work also at the domestic level to prevent outbreaks that could lead to problems in global security. How the government decides to deal with and address a pandemic says a lot about that countries power to protect their citizens, which relates to global security and its concepts. There are also many geopolitical factors that are relevant to understanding how viruses spread and what places may be more prone.