Defense Minister Ngo Xuan Lich (L) attends the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Retreat. (Photo: VNA)

Addressing the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) Retreat in Bangkok, Thailand, on Sunday, Minister Lich underlined the East Sea situation. He said: “The most visible example is that recent tensions in the East Sea are caused by unilateral acts, which do not respect the legal and legitimate interests of other countries and do not match international norms and laws, especially the 1982 UN Convention of the Law of the Sea. These acts threaten regional peace and stability and draw the attention of many countries outside the region. To make the East Sea truly become a sea area of peace and sustainable development, the prerequisite is that international law must be honored, which requires serious commitments and responsibility of countries in and outside the region.”

Defense ministers of the 10 ASEAN member states and eight dialogue partners are meeting at the ADMM Retreat and the 6th ADMM-Plus themed “Sustainable Security” on Sunday and Monday. They discuss measures to enhance trust and strengthen security between ASEAN members and dialogue partners in all respects. High on the agenda is cooperation in seven areas of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, maritime security, military medicine, counter-terrorism, peacekeeping operations, humanitarian activities and cyber security.