Australian professor praises Vietnam’s role in ASEAN
(VOVWORLD) - With COVID-19 ravaging the world, 2020 has brought Vietnam to its highest position of status and trust in the world, said Professor Carl Thayer of Australia’s University of New South Wales.
 Professor Carl Thayer of Australia’s University of New South Wales. (Photo: VNA) |
Thayer said Vietnam, as ASEAN Chair for 2020, has proposed pandemic response measures; has played a leading role in unifying ASEAN member states in responding to and recovering from COVID-19; has built consensus on ASEAN's neutral political stance; and has facilitated the completion of negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Vietnam has focused ASEAN's policy on the South China Sea (known as the East Sea in Vietnam), which stresses the importance of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in building a legal maritime order, he noted.
As a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, Vietnam strongly supports three principles of building global security: a commitment to UN-centered multilateralism; enhancing the role of regional organizations such as ASEAN; and adhering to the basic principles of international law and the UN Charter, Mr.Thayer said.