ASEAN issues joint statement, calls for avoiding militarization of the East Sea

The joint statement was issued just hours after the draft framework of the Code of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (COC) between ASEAN and China was officially approved.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and his Australian counterpart Julie Bishop (second from right) at the ASEAN-Australia Foreign Ministers' Meeting on August 6 - Photo: Reuters

On the evening of August 6, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting ended the bloc's deadlock over the East Sea issue with a joint communique after calling for avoiding militarization.

According to Reuters news agency, the joint statement also mentioned that some ASEAN countries expressed concerns about island reclamation activities in the East Sea.

On August 5, the 10 member states of ASEAN failed to issue a joint statement as usual. Diplomats called the failure on August 5 a sign of disagreement within ASEAN over how to address China’s activities in the region, according to Reuters.

The August 6 joint statement was issued just hours after the draft framework of the Code of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (COC) between ASEAN and China was officially approved.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, Head of ASEAN SOM Nguyen Quoc Dung said this is a positive start for the future substantive and effective COC negotiation process.

Also on August 6, within the framework of the 50th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting and related meetings, ASEAN held the ASEAN+1 Foreign Ministers' Meetings with 10 Partner Parties (PMC+1).

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam Pham Binh Minh led the Vietnamese delegation to attend the conferences.

As the coordinator of ASEAN-India relations, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh and Mr. VKSingh, Minister of State for External Affairs of India, co-chaired the ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers' Meeting.

According to the VNA special correspondent in the Philippines, within the framework of the conferences, the Deputy Prime Minister shared concerns about recent and current complicated developments in the East Sea, including unilateral actions of land reclamation and militarization of artificial islands, eroding trust and affecting peace, stability, security, and safety of navigation and aviation in the East Sea.

The Deputy Prime Minister asked countries to continue supporting ASEAN and making constructive contributions to maintaining peace and stability in the region;

Urge the parties to comply with basic principles such as resolving disputes by peaceful means, on the basis of international law and UNCLOS 1982, exercising self-restraint, fully and effectively implementing the DOC, soon entering into substantive negotiations and completing an effective COC on the basis of the adopted COC Framework.

According to tuoitre.vn