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Ambassador Vu Ho, Acting Head of ASEAN SOM Vietnam, speaks at the event. (Photo credit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) |
Earlier, ASEAN member countries convened a meeting to coordinate their stances.
Ambassador Vu Ho, Acting Head of ASEAN SOM Vietnam, led a Vietnamese delegation to the meetings.
Myanmar, the coordinator of ASEAN - China ties, and China co-chaired the 20th SOM-DOC which took place after nearly two years of hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the meeting, delegates reaffirmed the value and importance of DOC in the region. They highly appreciated the positive results in the DOC implementation over the past time.
They highlighted the effective implementation of specific cooperation activities in marine environment protection, marine scientific research, humane and fair treatment of fishermen, search and rescue operations at sea. They also noted activities in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the signing of the DOC in 2022.
The delegates showed their concerns about the complex developments in the East Sea (South China Sea) which erode trust, increase tensions, and affect the legitimate rights and interests of relevant countries. They urged ASEAN and China to seriously, fully and effectively observe all the provisions of the DOC.
In addition, they reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight in the East Sea while respecting principles such as exercising self-restraint, refraining from the use of force or threat to use force, and peacefully settling disputes in line with international law and the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982.
The meeting acknowledged progress in the COC negotiations and discussed orientations to the process carried out by the Joint Working Group on the DOC (JWG DOC). They emphasized the need to achieve an effective and practical COC that is conformable with international law and UNCLOS 1982, contributing to trust building and more efficient management of incidents in the East Sea.
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Delegates attending the conference (Photo credit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) |
Addressing the event, Ambassador Vu Ho stressed that the East Sea is a crucial maritime route of the world. Thus, maintaining and promoting peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight in this sea is not only the shared interest and responsibility of ASEAN and China but also reflects their responsibility towards the international community.
Noting that the situation in the East Sea is still developing complicatedly, and the unilateral actions that violate international law in the East Sea are going on, the ambassador suggested countries combine "words with deeds" by translating political commitments into specific and appropriate actions in the field.
The Vietnamese diplomat emphasized the need to use international law and UNCLOS 1982 as a “lodestar” for activities in the East Sea. According to him, while striving to achieve a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) which is practical, effective and conformable with international law and UNCLOS 1982 and supported by the international community, countries must seriously and fully abide by all the provisions of the DOC. These efforts, as he said, will contribute to creating a favorable environment for COC negotiations.
At the meeting, the delegates agreed to hold the 21st SOM-DOC in China in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Translated by Chung Anh