ASEAN logo (Source: Internet) Hanoi (VNA) – An international seminar themed “ASEAN and China-US relations: new movements and implications for the region” was held in Hanoi on March 10.
Opening the event, acting Director of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (DAV) Nguyen Vu Tung said the China-US relationship is one of the top priorities of researchers, strategy analysts and policymakers in Asia-Pacific.
The seminar, co-hosted by the DAV and the Konrad Adenauer Stifttung Institute, affords a chance for participants to look into the recent developments in the China-US ties and forecast the direction of the ties in the time to come, he said.
Tung added that the discussions are also expected to give participants gain an insight into the regional situation, opportunities and challenges.
Le Hong Hiep from the Singapore Institute of Southeast Asian Studies said ASEAN needs both the US and China to ensure security and develop the economy. The key issue here is that ASEAN must continue maintaining and upholding its central role in the regional security architecture, he said.
Australian Professor Carlyle A.Thayer called on ASEAN to partner with parties concerned in the East Sea issue to promote a maritime transparency initiative, and to continue fully abiding by the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea while working towards the signing of the Code of Conduct in the East Sea.
He also suggested increasing coordination in environmental protection, disaster recovery and climate change mitigation.
The event was divided into four sessions featuring new movements in China-US relations in Asia-Pacific, China-US relations’ impacts on the regional security environment, ASEAN’s central role in the regional security mechanism, and how ASEAN balances ties with China and the US in the new context.-VNA
