(VOVWORLD) -The 20th ASEAN-China Senior Officials' Meeting on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties (DOC) in the East Sea (SOM-DOC) was held in the northern province of Quang Ninh on Wednesday. Ambassador Vu Ho, Acting Head of ASEAN SOM Vietnam, led a Vietnamese delegation to the meeting.
 Ambassador Vu Ho, Acting Head of ASEAN SOM Vietnam, speaks at the event. (Photo: VNA) |
Participants reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight in the East Sea while respecting principles such as exercising self-restraint, refraining from the use or threat to use force, and peacefully settling disputes in line with international law and the 1982 UNCLOS.
The meeting acknowledged progress in the COC negotiations and discussed orientations to the process carried out by the Joint Working Group on the DOC (JWG DOC). It emphasized the need to achieve an effective and practical COC that is conformable with international law and the 1982 UNCLOS, contributing to trust building and more efficient management of incidents in the East Sea.
Speaking at the event, the Vietnamese Ambassador stressed the need to use international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as a “lodestar” for activities in the East Sea.
While striving to achieve a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) that is practical, effective and conformable with international law and the 1982 UNCLOS, and supported by the international community, Ho said countries must seriously and fully abide by all the provisions of the DOC. These efforts will contribute to creating a favorable environment for COC negotiations, he added.
The next ASEAN-China Senior Officials' Meeting will take place in China in the fourth quarter of 2023.