Vietnam resolutely protects international law in East Sea issue

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc attends the plenary meeting of the 35th ASEAN Summit in Thailand (Photo:VGP)

The meeting focused on security issues, sustainable development, the environment and ocean waste.

The 35th ASEAN Summit and related meetings discussed measures to accelerate the building of the ASEAN Community, effectively implement the blueprints of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, and regional and international issues of shared concern.

In his speech, PM Phuc underscored the significance of reinforcing ASEAN solidarity and unity and building an open, transparent and ruled-based regional architecture and asked other ASEAN member states to support Vietnam to successfully fulfill its role as ASEAN Chair in 2020 as a contribution to building the ASEAN Community towards sustainable development and extensive partnership with the regional bloc’s partners.

On the East Sea issue, he emphasized that maintaining an international legal order is the prerequisite for peace and stability in the East Sea, noting that the recent serious incidents in the waters of the region and Vietnam violated international law and have given ASEAN major lessons.

PM Phuc also expressed his concern over fragile security and stability in the East Sea and called for serious commitments and responsibility from all regional nations to ensure that the similar incidents will not reoccur.

Vietnam is determined and persistent in protecting the international law in international relations in general and in the East Sea issues in particular, he stressed.

PM Phuc affirmed that ASEAN has maintained solidarity and unity as shown through its stance raised at the 52nd foreign ministerial meeting, upholding the importance of peace, stability, respecting the international law, ensuring security, safety and freedom of navigation, aviation, exercising restraint from acts that complicate the situation, fully implementing the Declaration on the Conducts of the parties in the East Sea (DOC) and building the Code of Conducts of the Parties in the East Sea (COC). He also expressed Vietnam’s desire to build the East Sea into a sea of peace, stability and sustainable development.

On the sidelines of the event, PM Phuc had bilateral meetings with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Thai counterpart Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc meets with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres (Photo:VGP)

Meeting with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, PM Phuc affirmed that Vietnam supports multilateralism and is resolved to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 and the Paris Agreement on global response to climate change, and back the Secretary General's efforts to reform the UN development system.

Vietnam is willing to push ahead with greater contributions to peacekeeping activities, and support the Secretary-General's initiative on action for peacekeeping operations, Phuc noted.

The two leaders agreed to enhance cooperation and connectivity between ASEAN and the United Nations during the ASEAN Chair Year 2020 and Vietnam's non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council for 2020-2021 term. Regarding the situation in the East Sea, they shared their views on the need to ensure peace, stability, freedom, maritime and aviation security and soon reach the Code of Conduct of the parties in the East Sea (COC) in the spirit of ensuring respect for international law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS).

PM Phuc invited General Secretary Guterres to visit Vietnam on the occasion of the ASEAN Summit in 2020 and his invitation was graciously accepted.

At the meeting with his Thai counterpart Prayut Chan-o-cha, PM Phuc expressed his wish that the two countries would boost closer coordination to promote effective Vietnam-Thailand strategic partnership, properly implement cooperation mechanisms, and bolster cooperation in trade- investment, labour, and security- defence.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc meets with his Thai counterpart Prayut Chan-o-cha.

He asked the Thai leader to facilitate the distribution of Vietnamese goods in the Thai market and to support the life of the people of the Vietnamese origin in Thailand. He also suggested boosting coordination in dealing with issues that have common impact on the ASEAN, and consented to examine ways to increase trade revenue and investment scale.

Both sides concurred to bolster closer coordination to achieve the common goals of building the ASEAN Community, strengthen the central role of the ASEAN, promote the relationship with the partners, and resolve regional security issues, including the East Sea issue.

The same day, PM Phuc attended the signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding between ASEAN and FIFA.