A ship of Vietnam coast guard force (Photo: VNA) Inan interview given to the Vietnam News Agency correspondent in the UK on August 12, Rogers, whospecialises in British geostrategic and maritime power,and Euro-Atlantic, Indo-Pacific and Polar geopolitics, pointed to the significance of the threeproposals on maritime security made by the Vietnamese Prime Minister in hisspeech at the debate held virtually on August 9.
Mr. James Rogers, Co-founder and Director of Research at the UK's Council on Geostrategy (Photo: VNA) Commentingon PM Chinh's proposal on awareness of seas and oceans, Rogers said this is very important not only in countries surrounding the South China Sea (East Sea) butalso globally. Given the significance of the sea for the system of international commerce, it is important to maintain it openand free for access by all countries, he said, stressing the necessity tosupport Vietnam in upholdingthis important right.
Rogers saidalthough most countries have signed the United Nations Convention on the Law ofthe Sea (UNCLOS), which governs the behaviors that countries can undertake atsea, some countries have ignored rules and regulations they subscribed to inthe past. That is the problem for all countries, not just those around the East Sea, he said.
The British expert acknowledged theimportance of regional coordination for maritime security in the East Sea as proposedby Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, pointing out that this should be facilitatednot only in the UN, but also in ASEAN, particularly in relation to regulations of the Code of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea. He also pointed to the necessity for a coordination mechanismthat encourages countries to uphold important maritime norms established throughthe UNCLOS system.
He agreed with theVietnamese PM's point that regulations andconducts of states at sea must comply with both the UN Charter and UNCLOS system, saying that any additionalfuture policy or proposals in relation to the East Seasecurity and maritime rights must correspond to these rules and regulationsthat the countries have subscribed to.
He said it isvery good seeing Vietnam as an important regional power and close partner withmany different countries in the world, including the UK, taking the lead inbringing this issue to international attention. He also acknowledged the role ofVietnam and its support and leadership in dealing with security issues in the East Sea, given the country's important location off the waters.
Regarding maritimesecurity cooperation between Vietnam and the UK, Dr. Rogers said the two countrieswill have many different opportunities in the coming years given the UK'sincreasing presence in the Indo-Pacific region.
He said theUK's deployment of the carrier strike group (CSG 21) in the region demonstratesthat the country is undertaking its tilt towards the Indo-Pacific, which wasput forward in the UK government's integrated reviewof security, defence, development and foreign policy released in March thisyear.
He pointed outthat the UK understands the strategic significance of the Indo-Pacific and the East Sea in Southeast Asia in particular, and therefore, takesthe region seriously when deploying its largest and most powerful maritime groupinto the region.
As the UKintends to deploy later this year two patrol vessels permanently into theregion beyond the periodic deployment, which will interact with regional partners,of which Vietnam is an important one, Rogers said he seesthe prospect for enhancing Vietnam-UK cooperation, given the two countries havesimilar interests in relation to maritime security and in the East Sea./.
VNA
