ASEAN Foreign Ministers concerned about the situation in the East Sea

ASEAN foreign ministers expressed concern over recent developments in the South China Sea and stressed the importance of non-militarization of the region at a retreat in Laos today.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (5th from left) and delegates at the conference. Photo: Vietnam+

ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Retreattook place in Vientiane, Laos,This is the first ASEAN conference in Laos's ASEAN Chairmanship year 2016 and also the first conference after the ASEAN community was established on December 31, 2015.Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh led the Vietnamese delegation to attend the event.

At the conference, the Foreign Ministers discussed many issues such as the situation in North Korea, the East Sea, non-traditional security challenges such as terrorism, cyber security, human trafficking and irregular migration, climate change, natural disasters, and epidemics.

On the issue of the East Sea, theForeign Ministershared deep concerns over recent and ongoing complex developments, including land reclamation activities and other actions, which have eroded trust, increased tensions, and threatened peace, security and stability in the region.

Foreign Ministersemphasized the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, safety, freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea, non-militarization, self-restraint, resolving disputes by peaceful means, in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and making substantial progress in implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and building a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

China is said to have recently deployed missiles, fighter jets and radars on the rocky islands of Vietnam’s Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos that Beijing illegally occupies. This move has caused concern and met with strong opposition from many countries, including the US, Australia, Japan, etc.

Vietnam affirms indisputable sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos and condemns thePromoting militarization in the East Sea threatens peace and stability in the region as well as security, safety, freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea.

Speaking at the conference, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh emphasized that ASEAN needs to prioritize maintaining peace and stability.in the region in the context of an increasingly complex regional security environment.

He stressed that ASEAN needs to promote solidarity and unity and a common voice in the face of complicated developments in the region, especially the East Sea, and shared concerns about the increasingly complicated situation in the East Sea, especially militarization and its consequences for peace, security and stability in the region, emphasizing the need to resolve disputes by peaceful means, respecting international law and the Convention on the Law of the Sea.United NationsIn 1982, exercise restraint, do not militarize, seriously implement the DOC and enter into substantive negotiations to soon reach a COC.

On the sidelines of the conference, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh had a bilateral meeting with his Lao counterpart.Thongloun Sisoulith.

According to VNE