The 5th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Workshop on Implementing UNCLOS and other International Instruments to Address Emerging Maritime Issues takes place in Hanoi on November 9, 2023. (Photo: baoquocte.vn)

Workshop held in Hanoi on Thursday by the Foreign Ministry in coordination with the embassies of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the EU.

Participants discussed ways to cooperate and solve challenges in marine management in the region, based on the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and related international law.

Deputy Foreign Minister Do Hung Viet said territorial disputes, strategic competition, and on-site tensions, as well as climate change, sea level rise, and unsustainable marine exploitation have posed many risks to the East Sea – waters of great strategic and economic importance.

He said UNCLOS continues to demonstrate its irreplaceable role in resolving disputes at sea, serving as a solid foundation for an international legal framework for addressing emerging challenges.

Mr. Viet said that, more than ever, countries can find solutions to maritime problems in the region only through cooperation and fully respecting and implementing UNCLOS.