(VOVWORLD) - Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc held an online ceremony in Washington DC on Thursday marking the 53rd founding anniversary of ASEAN.
US Assistant Secretary of State David Stilwell
|
The ceremony was co-organised by the Vietnamese Embassy, since Vietnam is ASEAN Chair in 2020, in coordination with embassies of other ASEAN member countries in the US.
It saw the attendance of US Assistant Secretary of State David Stilwell and Congressman Ted Yoho, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Non-proliferation.
In his remarks, Stilwell passed on greetings from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who affirmed that ASEAN forms a significant part of the US’s vision for the Indo-Pacific.
The US backs ASEAN centrality, sovereignty, rule of law, and transparency, he emphasised, adding that the country will continue to stand side-by-side with the bloc to strengthen a US-ASEAN strategic partnership. He said the US will continue to support ASEAN in maritime capacity building.