(VOVworld) - The 3rd Expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum opened in the coastal city of Danang on Thursday. Present at the event were representatives from 10 ASEAN member states and 8 East Asia Summit partners, namely the US, China, Russia, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.
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Participants discussed measures to ensure the enforcement of international law and issues related to regional maritime cooperation in coping with natural disasters, search and rescue at sea, and an appropriate mechanism for all parties to implement international agreements including the Declaration on the Conducts of Parties in the East Sea.
Pham Quang Vinh, Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister, Head of Vietnam’s Senior Officials Meeting ASEAN, underscored ASEAN’s common concern for peace, stability, safety, and freedom of navigation. “The forum agreed on the need to stabilize politics and build trust to ensure marine safety and security. The participants also pointed out that all parties have to respect and abide by international law including the Convention on the law of the sea and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea and work toward the establishment of the Code of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea.”
The forum also examined 20 years of implementing the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in the region.