(VOVworld) – ASEAN and the US leaders have reached significant progress on bilateral cooperation and agreed to bring their relations to a strategic partnership level. The statement came during the 26th ASEAN – US Dialogue in Washington, D.C on May 2nd and 3rd. The annual deputy foreign ministerial level event within the ASEAN-US dialogue framework aims to review and discuss measures to foster cooperative relations between the two sides. A Vietnamese delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Vinh participated in the meeting. Both ASEAN states and the US emphasised the strategic significance of the bilateral partnership and cooperation for peace, security, and prosperity in the region. They pledged to expand and increase effective cooperation to upgrade their relationship to a strategic partnership in the near future. The two sides promise to focus on developing human resources and education, strengthening connectivity and people-to people exchanges. They pledge to deal with common challenges such as energy security, water resource, climate change, controlling epidemics and combating trans-national crime.
US representatives affirmed that President Barack Obama’s administration will persist in strengthening links with the Asia Pacific region, including ASEAN, as it considers the regional bloc a major pillar in US policy on the region. It will also support ASEAN’s central role in the overall regional structure. The US will continue supporting ASEAN in promoting integration, narrowing the development gap under cooperation programmes such as ASEAN Connectivity through Trade and Investment (ACTI), with total funding of 16 million USD in 5 years, and the 13-million-USD ASEAN-US Partnership for Good Governance, Equitable and Sustainable Development and Security (PROGRESS) program for 5 years.
The two sides underlined the need to maintain peace and stability in the region, ensure maritime security and safety in the East Sea, and settle disputes peacefully based on respect for international laws and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). They agreed that China should negotiate the early establishment of the Code of Conduct (COC) in the East Sea.
Nhat Quynh – Huy Hoang, VOV’s correspondents in the US