Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang speaking at the event (Photo: VNA)

Giang made the statement on Tuesday while addressing the Side Event named “Preparation of the 125th Anniversary of the Permanent Court of Arbitration: Reflections on the Timor-Leste/Australia Conciliation, five years after the first-ever UNCLOS Conciliation”, on the occasion of the UN International Law Week with the sponsorship of the Members of the Core Group – the Permanent Missions to the UN of the Philippines, Australia, Egypt, Guatemala, Hungary, Thailand, Singapore, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.

Giang affirmed that the success of the first-ever Conciliation under the provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1982 has demonstrated the important role of the convention in international peace and security, and provided reliable means for the peaceful settlement of disputes between nations, even in complex issues involving maritime borders. 

Vietnam recognises the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA)'s significant contribution to peaceful dispute solutions over the past 125 years and believes that the strong development of the PCA is also demonstrated through the opening of representative offices outside The Hague, including the one in Hanoi in November 2022.   

The diplomat also reaffirmed Vietnam’s stance that disputes must be handled by peaceful means, on the basis of international law, including the approval of international legal mechanisms.

In 2018, based on recommendations of the Compulsory Conciliation under UNCLOS, Australia and Timor-Leste reached an agreement on putting an end to the long and complex process of solving maritime delimitation disputes.

Created in 1899, the PCA is the oldest universal intergovernmental organisation dedicated to international dispute settlement. It is the precursor to modern international courts and tribunals, and most of what is now considered the international legal order.