PANO - The Senior Officials Meetings (SOM) of ASEAN, ASEAN+3 and East Asia Summit (EAS) took place in Luang Prabang, Laos on May 6th and 7th.

Vietnam Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung headed Vietnam delegation to take part in the meetings.

At the ASEAN Plus Three Senior Officials Meeting (ASEAN+3 SOM). (Photo: nhandan.com.vn)

At the ASEAN SOM, participating countries pledged to effectively implement the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and agreed to continue promoting the association's role, reinforcing its unity and solidarity, especially in strategic issues which might affect regional peace, security and development.

At the ASEAN+3 SOM, the ASEAN member countries and the three partners (including China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea) laid much stress on the significance of their collaboration to boost regional links and advance to the establishment  of the East Asia community. .

The EAS SOM witnessed the participation of the ASEAN member countries and 8 partners of China, the United States, Russia, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and India. They all applauded results of the implementation of the Kuala Lumpur Declaration in November 2015 and spent much time discussing regional and international issues of common concerns, including traditional and non-traditional security threats, which have been growing rapidly with deep impacts on regional countries.

Leading the Vietnam delegation, Deputy Minister Le Hoai Trung brought several issues to the discussion. Regarding the East Sea issues, he highlighted peace, stability, and navigation safety, freedom and security in the region should be taken into account and benefit all nations inside or outside the region. He also underlined the significance of settling all disputes via peaceful means and and respecting international law, including the United Nations 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982), while actively promoting the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties (DOC) and early reaching a Code of Conduct (COC) in the East Sea.

 

The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Senior Officials Meeting is going on today May 8th.

Translated by Trung Thanh