Vietnam’s contributions to ASEAN give the country higher status

PANO – On the occasion of the 46th anniversary of the ASEAN foundation (8/8/1967 – 8/8/2013) and the 18th anniversary of Vietnam’s accession to ASEAN (28/7/1995 – 28/7/2012), Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Quang Vinh, Head of Vietnam’s delegation to the Senior Officials’ Meeting in ASEAN, shared with the press about some issues relating to Vietnam’s role in ASEAN and the development of the association.

- Could you please tell our readers about Vietnam’s remarkable milestones in ASEAN, Mr. Deputy Minister?

- The past 18 years have marked Vietnam’s broad and deep integration and its greater contributions to ASEAN’s common efforts. Notably, the parallel between Vietnam’s renewal and its integration into ASEAN created impetus for the country to catch up with and actively participate in the ASEAN process. Vietnam’s contributions to the association helped raise the country’s status and made it more energetic to contribute actively to the association.

From a country that fully complied to commitments in ASEAN’s documents and gradually implemented the integration categories, so far, Vietnam has become a member that participates in planning ASEAN’s activities. Especially, the country held the ASEAN presidency in 2010, at the time the association had new regulations and structure according to its charter.

Every country highly appreciated Vietnam’s contributions to the legal foundation to bring the ASEAN Charter into life and build ASEAN on the three pillars. Vietnam contributed much to the ASEAN Charter, a basic document that brings ASEAN from an association that operated on the basis of political declaration in 1967 to one that works on a legal foundation with a new apparatus to ensure its efficiency.

Meanwhile, Vietnam has helped ASEAN to become more active in maintaining peace in the region. We also directly contributed to ASEAN’s strategic documents, paving the way for the association to go into the community and develop in the years to come, and broaden relations with its partners. A master plan on ASEAN connectivity was adopted in Vietnam in 2010 together with other documents created a political and legal framework that helps ASEAN go into the community and promote its central role.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Quang Vinh

- Are there any challenges confronting ASEAN, Mr. Deputy Minister?

- Issues and challenges relating to peace, security and development in the region, including the East Sea issues, are very important in this period.

Moreover, in its development, ASEAN has only two and a half years to strive for becoming a community in 2015. ASEAN still has to face many difficulties and challenges, including higher requirements in connectivity and integration, especially economic ones.

Moreover, it is time for ASEAN to have a new and strategic vision to continue to develop in the following decades, not only stopping when becoming a community in 2015. Maintaining a community and developing it together with promoting connectivity is the factor that ensures a peaceful and stable environment in the whole region.

Maintaining ASEAN’s leading role is also a big challenge when its partners, especially major countries, attach importance to ASEAN’s role and expect to participate in mechanisms to boost cooperation. This is an opportunity for ASEAN to mobilize resources and political support for common goals. However, this is also a challenge because major countries have their own interests, so competitiveness is unavoidable. ASEAN has to orientate these competitive relations to not go against its goal of maintaining an environment of peace, stability and cooperation.

Finally, it is important to harmonize different countries’ interests and ASEAN’s ones. To do this, the principles of consensus and broad consultation in the ASEAN Charter must be ensured.

- What are ASEAN’s solutions to deal with these challenges?

- To handle challenges that relate to peace, security and development such as the East Sea issues, maintaining peace, security, maritime safety and solving disputes peacefully, ASEAN agreed to practice compliance with international laws, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, well observe the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and soon reach a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

In ASEAN’s view, the COC must be built on positive principles and regulations like the DOC but on a higher level. ASEAN expects that the COC must have a high political commitment and have binding values, especially legal ones. The COC must uphold the basic and positive principles in the DOC with more detailed regulations and mechanisms that help prevent the risks of conflict.

The economic connectivity and integration is a bright spot in ASEAN community building. ASEAN set a target to reduce tariffs to zero by 2015 within the block. Moreover, the association will establish a free trade agreement with its partners, including China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand and India.ASEAN also needs to boost measures to build trust and cooperation mechanisms in the region to connect with countries outside the block, especially major ones. This is the basis for the ongoing regional structure with ASEAN’s centrality and activeness so that efforts made by regional countries will better serve the goals of peace, development and welfare for the people.

- Thank you very much, Mr. Deputy Minister!