Vietnam attends ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Retreat

On January 17, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Retreat took place in the ancient capital of Bagan, Myanmar.

This is the first conference to kick off Myanmar's ASEAN Chairmanship year. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh led the Vietnamese delegation to the conference.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (fourth from left) takes a photo with ASEAN Foreign Ministers in Bagan on January 17. Source: AFP/VNA

With the theme “Solidarity towards a peaceful and prosperous ASEAN Community” in 2014, the Conference focused on four main contents: reviewing measures to promote the process of building the ASEAN Community and priorities in 2014; building the ASEAN Vision after 2015; deepening ASEAN's foreign relations; and discussing international and regional issues of common concern.

Regarding the process of building the ASEAN Community in 2015, the Foreign Ministers assessed 2014 as a key year, requiring ASEAN to be determined and make the greatest efforts to complete the remaining tasks, with a proactive and responsible spirit, ensuring effective implementation and focusing resources on priority areas.

The foreign ministers also agreed that ASEAN needs to effectively implement important cooperation programs such as the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) and the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) to narrow the development gap; further enhance the operational efficiency and coordination among ASEAN agencies and organizations, improve ASEAN's response capacity to important regional issues, as well as enhance the capacity and role of the ASEAN Secretariat.

In terms of politics and security, ASEAN needs to prioritize ensuring a peaceful and secure environment in the region, continue to promote trust building, share standards of conduct, uphold principles and agreements, and promote existing cooperation tools and mechanisms.

On the other hand, it is necessary to step up ASEAN's efforts in cooperation to respond to non-traditional security challenges such as natural disasters, climate change, humanitarian assistance to people and ships in distress at sea, and prevention of transnational crimes...

The High Level Task Force (HLTF) will soon deploy activities, review mechanisms and institutions in ASEAN, and enhance the capacity of the Secretariat to meet the increasing demands of the situation.

The Foreign Ministers decided to submit to the Summit the initiation of the review of the ASEAN Charter and the Rules of Procedure of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights after five years of operation.

Regarding the economy, the Foreign Ministers agreed that ASEAN needs to focus on promoting the timely implementation of priority measures for 2013-2015; effectively implementing signed agreements and treaties between ASEAN and its partners, including improving the enforcement of free trade area (FTA) agreements.

In terms of culture and society, focus on responding to emerging challenges such as natural disasters, climate change, and environmental pollution; improve people's lives, ensure social security; as well as step up propaganda and promotion of the ASEAN Community; and raise people's awareness of the "subject" of the ASEAN Community.

Regarding the development of the ASEAN Vision after 2015, based on the guidance of the Leaders at the 23rd ASEAN Summit, the Ministers directed and proposed a specific plan for the Working Group of the ASEAN Coordinating Council to soon start operating, discussing the contents of orientations for ASEAN's development after 2015.

The Foreign Ministers also agreed that the Vision must demonstrate a strategic, long-term vision, inheriting and multiplying the achievements of the ASEAN Community building process in the 2009-2015 period, bringing ASEAN's connectivity and cooperation to a higher level, enhancing ASEAN's role in peace, security and development issues in the region, actively promoting the building of standards of conduct in East Asia, and striving for a greater common voice on important global issues.

Regarding the international and regional situation, the Ministers spent a lot of time discussing the East Sea issue. Affirming ASEAN's common stance circulated in the press release after the Conference, the Ministers expressed concern over recent developments in the East Sea; further reaffirming ASEAN's Six-Point Principles on the East Sea and the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, freedom of navigation and overflight in the East Sea.

Therefore, the Ministers called on relevant parties to exercise restraint, resolve disputes by peaceful means, comply with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and fully implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) to create an environment of mutual trust.

The Ministers also stressed the need to actively promote negotiations towards early conclusion of the Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

Regarding foreign affairs, the Ministers said it is necessary to continue to promote deeper and broader foreign relations, take advantage of the support of partners to serve the process of building the Community; continue to promote ASEAN's core role, along with strengthening cooperation between ASEAN and partners in resolving important regional issues, and ensuring ASEAN's central role in the emerging regional structure.

The Foreign Ministers also paid special attention to the issue of natural disaster response following the severe consequences of Typhoon Hayan and emphasized the need to improve processes and enhance the capacity of ASEAN's relevant agencies such as the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM) and the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance (AHA Centre) to be able to respond more quickly and effectively in similar natural disaster situations.

Speaking at the Conference, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh emphasized the importance of this Ministerial Conference to orient ASEAN's activities in 2014, in the context of the international and regional situation posing many opportunities as well as great challenges.

The Deputy Prime Minister focused on analyzing ASEAN's current and upcoming key tasks, including accelerating the progress of implementation and building the Community to ensure the achievement of the Community's goals by 2015; strengthening ASEAN solidarity, improving the effectiveness of operations and coordination within ASEAN to take advantage of opportunities as well as respond to challenges; continuing to expand relations with partners; promoting ASEAN's leading role in promoting a peaceful, stable and developing environment in the region; building a long-term vision to continue to develop ASEAN strongly in the coming time and after 2015.

On this occasion, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Pham Binh Minh also proposed a number of priority orientations for 2014 as well as announced that Vietnam would proactively host a number of tasks to promote the remaining contents in the roadmap towards the Community.

Looking forward, at the Conference, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh emphasized that the ASEAN Community Vision after 2015 should be based on the following main principles: Continuing and promoting the results of building the Community that have been achieved on the three pillars; thereby, raising the process of ASEAN association and connectivity to a higher level, along with building a peaceful, stable, cooperative, developed, multi-level connected and connected East Asia region, with ASEAN as the center; consolidating ASEAN values ​​and standards and developing it to the wider East Asia region; promoting measures to build a strong ASEAN community, for the benefit of the whole region and member countries; enhancing the effectiveness of coordination between agencies in the community, enhancing the capacity of the ASEAN Secretariat and making efforts to build a common voice of ASEAN on important regional and global issues.

Regarding the East Sea issue, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh emphasized the common responsibility of ensuring peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation in the East Sea; strictly complying with international law, UNCLOS and DOC, showing restraint, not taking any imposition that would further complicate the situation; in the context of the East Sea situation continuing to have complicated developments, it is urgent to further step up efforts and enter into substantive negotiations to soon reach a COC.

On the occasion of the Conference, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh congratulated Myanmar Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin on assuming the position of ASEAN Chair and expressed Vietnam's strong support for Myanmar to successfully fulfill this noble task.

According to Vietnam+