Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son attends the 11th East Asia Summit (EAS) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on August 4, 2021. (Photo: VNA)

ASEAN and its East Asian partners agreed to fulfill the Manila Plan of Action for the 2018-2022 period and devise a new plan for the next period, focusing on the priorities of the new situation. They vowed to contribute to recovery and growth efforts and help ASEAN improve its preventive medicines, develop COVID-19 vaccines, and ensure equitable vaccine access.

Minister Son said the 15-year history of the East Asia Summit has validated its role in securing regional peace, stability, and prosperity. He underscored the need to respect East Asia’s key principle of pursuing dialogues and cooperation while reducing strategic complications.

Mr. Son shared his ideas about regional hotspots of conflict, including the East Sea, known internationally as the South China Sea. He reiterated the consistent stance of ASEAN and Vietnam on the East Sea issue, emphasizing the importance of trust-building and restraint from actions that might complicate the situation or harm the marine environment. Differences and disputes must be settled via peaceful means with respect for international law and the rights and interests of all, said Son.

The Minister noted that ASEAN and China are negotiating a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) that will conform to international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). He called on East Asian countries to join this process. He restated Vietnam’s historical and legal evidence for its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes.