The 45 th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM-45) and related meetings
concentrated on orientations to implement priorities and focuses of
ASEAN cooperation, both in intra-bloc and external relations, Deputy
Foreign Minister Pham Quang Vinh has said.
Vinh
said that ASEAN’s major orientations include the need to demonstrate its
determination and give the highest priority to realising the roadmap to
build the ASEAN Community by 2015, which serves as a basis for ASEAN to
continue strongly develop in the time to come.
ASEAN needs to take the initiative and further promote its role in and
contributions to ensuring peace, stability, security and cooperation in
trust building in the region.
The association
should continue to strengthen and deepen its relations with partners,
encourage them to contribute to the common goal of peace, stability and
development in the region.
The East Sea
issue was one of the hot topics at the meetings, Vinh said, adding that
many countries expressed concerns about recent complicated developments
in the East Sea which affected peace, stability, security,
maritime safety and freedom.
They also stressed
that all the countries must solve the disputes through peaceful means
with respect for international law and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law
of the Sea (UNCLOS); fully implement the Declaration on the Conduct of
the Parties in the East Sea (DOC); and build a Code of Conduct of
Parties in the East Sea (COC) at an early date to effectively ensure
peace, stability and security in the East Sea.
Regarding Vietnam ’s contributions to the meetings, Vinh said the
country made positive contributions to the enhancement of ASEAN’s role
in the implementation of the bloc’s main focuses and priorities such as
building an ASEAN Community.
Along with other
members, Vietnam has always held high ASEAN’s active role in
contributing to the building of an environment of peace, stability,
security and cooperation in the region.
Vietnam
has made important contributions to strengthening the external
relations of the bloc both in depth and width, while encouraging the
involvements and contributions of partners to the focuses and priorities
of the region.
The country has also been dynamic
in fostering the cooperation among Mekong nations and partners of Japan
, the Republic of Korea and the US .
Vietnam shares concerns over recent developments in the East Sea,
emphasizing the principles of respecting sovereign right and
jurisdictional right of coastal countries over exclusive economic zones
and continental shelves as stated in the 1982 UN Convention on the
Law of the Sea.
Vietnam also supports the method
of settling disputes through peaceful measures, with respect to
international law and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea;
fully implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of the Parties in the
East Sea (DOC); and building a Code of Conduct of Parties in the East
Sea (COC) at an early date.
The positive contributions of the Vietnamese delegation were highly valued by other countries./.