ASEAN, Chinese senior officials attend the SOM (Source: nld.com.vn) Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam always calls onall concerned parties to avoid militarisation, restrain, implement theDeclaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) fully andeffectively, and build a practical and effective Code of Conduct in the EastSea, a Vietnamese diplomat has said.
The statement was made by Deputy Minister of ForeignAffairs Nguyen Quoc Dung who led a Vietnamese delegation to attend the 16th ASEAN-China Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) on the Implementation of the DOCheld in Manila, the Philippines, from October 25-26.
Dung said that the escalating militarisation andstrategic competition between powers are likely to cause serious and unexpectedincidents that threaten peace, security and stability in the region and theworld.
Sharing the COC negotiation process, the Vietnameseofficial said that besides common perceptions, the document needs to equaliseand take parties’ interests into account, map out principles and orientationsfor cooperative activities, and create a framework to maintain dialogue on theEast Sea in the time to come.
Reviewing the East Sea situation and theimplementation of the DOC, many countries showed their concern over the increasingmilitarisation, unilateral acts and risks of conflicts between the countries’armed forces.
The SOM emphasised the importance of ensuring peace,stability, security, safety and freedom of aviation and navigation in the EastSea through dialogue and cooperation, the full and effective implementation ofthe DOC and greater efforts to build a practical and effective COC thatconforms with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Conventionon the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
On this occasion, the ASEAN and Chinese seniorofficials agreed to extend the action plan on the implementation of the DOCduring 2016-2021.
They also acknowledged the ASEAN-China Joint WorkingGroup (JWG)’s efforts to negotiate the COC, urging the JWG to step up exchangesand discussions to achieve effective negotiations in the coming time.
Earlier, on October 24-25, the ASEAN-China JWG onthe implementation of the DOC convened its 26th session inManila.-VNA.
VNA
