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Dr. Nguyen Hung Son addresses the opening ceremony of the dialogue. |
The event was jointly held by the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (DAV), the British Embassy in Vietnam, and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) - a German political foundation.
The dialogue drew the participation of nearly 200 international and domestic delegates, including 17 speakers who are prestigious experts and scholars in the region and the world, and representatives of foreign diplomatic agencies in Vietnam. Attentively, some 100 delegates attended the one-day event in-person.
In his opening remarks, DAV Deputy Director Dr. Nguyen Hung Son emphasized the importance of the marine scientific research, saying that it plays a vital role in preserving and restoring biodiversity and developing oceans sustainably.
The Vietnamese official said that in the context of increased tensions in the disputed areas, marine scientific research is a topic that all parties discuss for the sake of enhancing cooperation, building trust, contributing to promoting peace, stability, and common development.
The dialogue aimed to make clear the values of the marine scientific research in the East Sea (South China Sea internationally) which has high biodiversity and has been badly being impacted by climate change, polluted sea environment, reduction in natural resources and fish, and challenges posed by disputes over territorial sovereignty. It was also a good place to seek opportunities to promote cooperation in marine scientific research in the East Sea among coastal nations and international partners.
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An overview of the ninth ocean dialogue |
The dialogue had four discussion sessions. The first discussion was about the legal framework of marine scientific research in the East Sea in line with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982, challenges facing UNCLOS due to quick changes of human’s activities and new technologies, and how to ensure and uphold the ocean management role of UNCLOS.
The second and third sessions focused on the regional and international reality of marine scientific research, proposals and ideals on cooperation in marine scientific research in the East Sea. The last session looked into policy suggestions in order to improve trust among parties on the basis of enhancing cooperation activities in the field in the region.
Translated by Mai Huong