The events, consisting of the SOM, the Meeting of the Executive Committee of the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ EXCOM), and the 17th ASEAN Coordinating Council Working Group (ACCWG) on Timor-Leste's ASEAN Membership Application, aimed to comprehensively review the preparations for the 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting and related meetings, scheduled to take place in Vientiane from July 24-28.

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Deputy Foreign Minister Do Hung Viet (5th from left) in a group photo at the ASEAN Senior Officials' Meeting

At the meetings, the Vietnamese deputy minister actively participated in and made significant contributions to the discussions, particularly on implementing the bloc’s priorities for 2024 and orientations for building a strategy to realize the ASEAN Political-Security Community Blueprint 2045.

He lauded ASEAN's common approach to deepening relations with partners and promoting the signing of the Protocol to the SEANWFZ Treaty by nuclear weapon states (NWS). The official also highlighted the bloc’s role and approach in supporting Myanmar, including humanitarian assistance to its people.

Viet affirmed that ASEAN must maintain its common stance on the East Sea (South China Sea) issue as outlined in the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Statement on Maintaining and Promoting Stability in the Maritime Sphere in Southeast Asia dated December 30, 2023, particularly the principles of upholding international law, including the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982; exercising restraint and resolving disputes peacefully; fully and effectively implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties (DOC) in the East Sea, and developing an effective, substantive Code of Conduct (COC) in the waters in accordance with international law, especially UNCLOS 1982.

Source: VNA