Both the East Asia Summit (EAS) and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) need to make further effective contributions to the region’s common goals.

Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh made the remarks at the 2nd EAS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and the 19th ARF held in Phnom Penh on July 12.

EAS and ARF should coordinate and supplement other regional cooperation frameworks such as ASEAN plus 1, ASEAN plus 3, ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting plus (ADMM+), he added.

Both EAS and ARF need to be active in contributing to building and sharing standards in relations between nations in order to make practical contributions to the common goals of peace, stability, security and cooperation in the region, according to the FM.

Foreign Minister Minh affirmed that EAS continues to be a forum of leaders to have dialogues and direct cooperation on important strategic issues, including politics, security and development for the common interest of regional countries and on the basis of goals, principles and capacity of EAS.

As an important element in the regional architecture, EAS needs to make more contributions to the common goals of peace, security, stability and development in the region, he added.

On the other hand, EAS should continue to promote the five existing joint priorities and push up other important cooperation areas such as connectivity and linkages, including the establishment of a free trade area in East Asia, and the fight against natural disaster, terrorism and transnational crimes.

FM Minh also stressed the necessity that ARF continues to promote its role as a leading regional forum on politics-security.

The forum also needs to implement effectively the Hanoi Plan of Action to implement the ARF vision statement 2020, promote cooperation to address non-traditional security challenges, such as natural disaster, terrorism, climate change, maritime security and safety.

At the meeting, the minister shared assessment of situations in East Asia, Myanmar, the Korean peninsula and the Middle East-North Africa.

Regarding the East Sea, at both meetings, Foreign Minister Minh expressed his concern over recent complications in the East Sea with violations to the sovereign right and the jurisdictional right over the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of coastal nations.

He emphasised that countries must respect principles of international law and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, including regulations on respect of the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of coastal nations, without the use of force and settlement of disputes through peaceful means.

He also stressed the full implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and building the Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) soon.-VNA