Vietnam values the key role of international cooperation in managing and preserving oceans and its efficiency to sea-borne economies.

The remark was made by Pham Vinh Quang, Minister and Deputy Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN, at a debate of the 65th United Nations General Assembly on Dec. 7.

Vinh appreciated the last year’s operation of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, and Commission on the Limits of the Continental shelf within the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The Vietnamese diplomat stressed that Vietnam is a maritime country and its government decided to develop a sea-borne economy, considering it an important strategy for the 21st century.

To ensure the strategy’s success, he added, the government pays attention to preserving the East Sea’s environment in order to use sustainably and legally the sea and maritime resources in accordance with the UNCLOS.

Vietnam would exert its efforts to coordinate with other countries in sharing information and executing laws in order to fight against piracy on the East Sea within the framework of the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia, Vinh said in conclusion./.