Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung, head of the Vietnamese delegation at the 24th ASEAN-China Senior Officials' Consultation in Singapore on June 8 (Photo: VNA) Singapore (VNA) – Senior officials ofthe ASEAN countries and China held their 24th consultation (ACSOC-24) inSingapore on June 8 to review bilateral relations and discuss measures toreinforce the cooperation and strategic partnership between ASEAN and China.
Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung led aVietnamese delegation to the consultation, an annual event at the deputyforeign ministerial level within the framework of ASEAN-China dialoguerelations.
The countries applauded the outcomes of the twosides’ strategic partnership and comprehensive cooperation, particularly inimplementing the ASEAN-China Plan of Action 2016-2020. China has continuallybeen the top trade partner of ASEAN over the last nine years and the fourthbiggest FDI investor in the bloc.
China affirmed that it attaches importance tocooperation with ASEAN, stressing its support for the grouping’s central rolein the regional architecture. The country wants ASEAN to develop dynamicallyand pledges to continue assisting the bloc in building its community, boostconnectivity, and narrow development gap.
Meanwhile, ASEAN officials emphasised theimportance of the ASEAN-China strategic partnership to regional peace,stability and prosperity. They said their countries welcome activities markingthe 15th founding anniversary of this strategic partnership, including acommemorative summit in late 2018.
The two sides said they will further consolidateand develop the strategic partnership on the basis of mutual benefits, and enhanceunderstanding and trust. They agreed to gather resources to effectivelyimplement the ASEAN-China Plan of Action 2016-2020, soon complete theratification of the protocol on upgrading the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement,and facilitate trade and investment so as to boost bilateral trade to 1trillion USD and investment to 150 billion USD by 2020.
ASEAN and China will continue expandingcooperation to new fields like digital economy, e-commerce, digitalconnectivity, and smart city building. They will also step up the exchange ofpeople, youth and scholars so as to raise two-way tourist arrivals to 30million by 2020. Cooperation will also be strengthened to solve non-traditionaland trans-national security problems like cyber-crime, climate change,epidemics, and disaster management, and increase coordination at internationaland regional multilateral forums.
At the ACSOC-24, officials exchanged views onthe regional and world situation, including the Korean Peninsula situation andemerging challenges such as cyber security, terrorism, violent extremism,climate change, and disaster aid.
Regarding the East Sea issue, the participatingcountries underlined the significance of peace, stability, security, safety andfreedom of navigation and aviation in the waters. ASEAN called on relevantparties to exercise restraint, not complicate the situation or raise tension,and resolve disputes by peaceful measures on the basis of international law,including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982UNCLOS).
The countries agreed on the need to fullyimplement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties (DOC) in the East Sea andsoon achieve a meaningful and effective Code of Conduct (COC) in the waters.
Addressing the meeting, Deputy FM Nguyen QuocDung highly valued China’s commitment to supporting ASEAN’s central role andhelping the bloc to build its community, enhance connectivity and narrowdevelopment gap.
He urged both sides to work closely together toimplement their leaders’ decisions and actively realise the ASEAN-China Plan ofAction 2016-2020 with concrete and practical cooperation projects.
He also welcomed their active preparation forthe activities marking 15 years of the ASEAN-China strategic partnership,asking for close coordination to ensure the success of the commemorative summitin late 2018.
Talking about the East Sea situation, Dung alsovoiced concerns about the recent happenings in the waters. He underscored theimportance of exercising restraint, avoiding actions to complicate thesituation, promoting dialogue and cooperation, and peacefully settling disputeson the basis on international law and the 1982 UNCLOS. He also called for full implementationof the DOC and creation of a favourable environment for the COCnegotiation.-VNA
VNA
