earlier, ai uchida spoke to a reporter in bangkok who's been following the latest developments. >> let's start with the pandemic. we mentioned suga's offer to help with the regional response earlier. what else is being discussed on that front? >> fighting the coronavirus is obviously high on the agenda and a number of projects are proposed, one is regarding needed medical supplies. there are plans to develop a center for health emergencies which is what suga intends to support. asian governments have pledged about $10 million for the initiative. limiting the economic impact is another major concern. the leaders are focussing on how to resume travel among asean a countries while minimizing the risk of infections. >> and what about the territorial disputes in the south china sea? you know, they've been a recurring theme at the semi-annual summit. any signs of progress there? >> well, officials are once again trying to address how to deal with china's increasingly assertive presence. beijing of course claims almost half of the south china sea and has been building up military facilities the

earlier, ai uchida spoke to james kim for his take on the situation. kim is a research fellow for the asean institute of policy studies and an expert on relations between the united states and south korea. >> i think eventually, we're going to get a result, one way or another. so i, in the long run, i think, you know, we will have a new administration in place. whatever the result may be. but there are certain short-run complications and potential risks that we need to be mindful of, given how unpredictable donald trump can be. last four years have shown that. certain things that he could say or do could be, we could be in for a pretty rocky ride between now and next inauguration, january 20th is when it's scheduled for. i think we need to hedge against those risks and some potential instability within the united states as well. >> now south korea has a strong relationship with the u.s. and has worked closely with the country towards achieving denuclearization on the peninsula. if this political vacuum continues in washington, how should south korea de