(VOVworld) - ASEAN leaders once again voiced their deep concern about the East Sea situation in the Chairman’s Statement of the 28th and 29th ASEAN Summits, which was issued on Wednesday afternoon.

The ASEAN and Chinese leaders perform a ceremonial action at the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations (Photo: VNA)

The statement said at the summits, held in Laos’s capital Vientiane, regional leaders had held constructive and cordial discussions to shape the future direction of ASEAN, mentioning an array of issues from economics and society, politics and security, and community building, to internal and external relations. Notably, the Chairman’s Statement featured a section devoted to the East Sea issue, which said regional leaders remained seriously concerned about recent and ongoing developments and took note of the concerns expressed by some leaders on land reclamations and the escalation of activities in the area, which have eroded trust and confidence, increased tensions and may undermine peace, security and stability in the region. They underscored the importance of the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) in its entirety. In the statement, the leaders urged all parties to work expeditiously for the early adoption of an effective Code of Conduct (COC) in the East Sea. They also stressed the importance of undertaking confidence building and preventive measures to enhance trust and confidence amongst parties and welcomed the adoption of the joint statement of the foreign ministers of ASEAN member states and China on the full and effective implementation of the DOC.