Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh meets with Chinese and US foreign ministers

Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister yesterday held bilateral meetings with foreign ministers of many ASEAN partner countries on the sidelines of the ARF forum.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Manila, the Philippines, on August 7. The Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister also had meetingsbilateral meetings with the foreign ministers of the United States and New Zealand and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union (EU), according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (right) and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Photo: VNA.

During the meetings, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Pham Binh Minh and his partners discussed bilateral cooperation as well as international and regional issues.

Vietnam and other countries affirmed ASEAN's central role in the region, coordinated to resolve the East Sea issue on the basis of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and supported ASEAN and China to soon negotiate a substantive Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

The meetings took place on the sidelines of the 24th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Manila, Philippines. The ARF was attended by 27 ASEAN foreign ministers and partners such as North Korea, South Korea, Russia, the United States, China, Japan and Australia.

ASEAN and China on August 6 approved the draft framework of the Code of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (COC) and are expected to submit it to leaders at the ASEAN Summit in November. Japan and Australia called on ASEAN and China to ensure the COC will be "legally binding, meaningful, effective, and consistent with international law".

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson meets with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh. Photo: VNA.

According to Zing