Vietnam was the chair of the ASEAN for 2020, and experts said the country fulfilled its role. Frederick Kliem, a Visiting Fellow with the Centre for Multilateralism Studies at RSIS, said: “Vietnam has an active and leading role in the ASEAN political-security community, particularly in regional and maritime security.” He noted that Vietnam is progressing quickly in the region and is playing an important role in connecting the five founding member states of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand and also with CLM countries (Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar).