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PANO - ASEAN-China Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) on implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) took place in Hanoi on June 24-25 under the chairmanship of Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Vinh and his Chinese counterpart Fu Ying.
At the meeting, all parties re-affirmed their commitment to respect and fully implement the DOC and to advance towards successfully building a Code of Conduct (COC) in the East Sea.
In their speech, all participants laid stress on the importance of peace, stability, security and marine safety in the East Sea; peaceful settlement of disputes among parties on the basis of international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
The meeting also reviewed recent progresses in carrying out DOC, including re-start of ASEAN-China dialogue on DOC at SOM, passed rules on instruction and plan of DOC implementation. Participating countries agreed that DOC was a very important document, contributing to confidence building in the region and to boosting ASEAN-China cooperation for regional peace and stability.
They also agreed on the continued positive dialogues to ensure the full and efficient implementation of DOC and some joint activities, such as a seminar on the 10th anniversary of DOC.
On this occasion, ASEAN suggested to carry out exchanges between ASEAN and China to build COC in the East Sea. The meeting’s result would be reported to ASEAN-China Foreign Ministerial Meeting this July.
Addressing the meeting, Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Vinh appreciated the respect and full implementation of DOC, regarding it a practical contribution to peace, stability, security, and marine safety in the region, in general and in the East Sea in particular. He also stressed that along with fully implementing DOC and carrying out activities on the basis of Plan of DOC implementation, all parties needed to put forwards the successful building of COC so as to boost cooperation and confidence building for peace and security in the region and in the East Sea.
Translated by Mai Huong