Senior officials from ASEAN member countries take photo at the celebration of the 50th founding anniversary of ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM 50) (Photo: VNA)Talking to the press following the event, the Deputy FM said Vietnam hasworked closely with the Philippines as ASEAN Chair and other countries to putforward initiatives for implementing plans of actions, draft documents,strengthen ASEAN agencies and promote consensus, thus ensuring the success ofthe meetings and the bloc’s prestige.
As coordinator of ASEAN-India relations, Deputy Prime Minister andForeign Minister Pham Binh Minh and India’s Minister of State for ExternalAffairs V.K Singh co-chaired the ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, which producedimportant outcomes, including the approval of the theme for the ASEAN-India CommemorativeSummit as “Shared Values, Common Destiny”. The two sides also agreed toaccelerate the signing of an MoU on the establishment of the ASEAN-IndiaCentre; work together to draft the Delhi Declaration to mark the 25th anniversary of ASEAN-India ties; and pinpoint priority fields for bilateral cooperationin the time ahead, such as connectivity,marine cooperation, terrorism combat and bio-diversity.
Regarding the East Sea issue, Vietnam has upheld the spirit of solidarityand a common voice of ASEAN to prevent different viewpoints from affecting theatmosphere of cooperation and outcomes of the meetings, while firmly protectingthe country’s interests.
Deputy FM Dung noted that together with many countries, Vietnam raisedconcerns about the situation in the East Sea, including activities of reclamation,construction and militarization, while calling for maintaining principles andstance regarding the East Sea already specified in ASEAN documents as well asagreed by ASEAN and its partners, especially the peaceful settlement of disputeswithout use or threat to use force while respecting international law, the 1982UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and diplomatic and legal process. Vietnamand other countries also appealed to partner countries and the internationalcommunity to continue support efforts of ASEAN and China to fully andeffectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties on the East Seaand push for early and result-oriented negotiations for an effective andlegally-binding Code of Conduct of Parties on the East Sea.
The diplomat also highlighted that on the sidelines of the AMM 50, ForeignMinister Pham Binh Minh held a series of bilateral meetings with hiscounterparts from Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia, Laos,Canada, the US, New Zealand, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, and the HighRepresentative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
During the meetings, FM Minh emphasized Vietnam’s policy of deepening tieswith the countries and partners on an equal and mutually-benefiting footingwith a focus on people’s interest and for peace, stability, cooperation and developmentin the region and the world, according to Deputy FM Dung.
Vietnam and the countries also agreed to maintain contacts, enhance theefficiency of cooperative mechanisms, and coordinate to make good preparationsfor upcoming visits by their high-ranking officials.
“Overall, Vietnam’s contributions to the AMM 50 demonstrate the country’sproactiveness, high sense of responsibility and maturity in regionalintegration, thus enhancing our role and prestige in the ASEAN and in ties withpartners,” Deputy FM Dung said.
The diplomat also briefed the press on the outstanding outcomes of theAMM 50 and related meetings, which were of great significance as they tookplace on the occasion of ASEAN celebrating its golden jubilee (August 8,1967-August 8, 2017).-VNA
VNA
