FM Son urges ASEAN to promote trust and solidarity
(VOVWORLD) - Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son on Saturday emphasized the need for ASEAN to maintain a balanced and harmonious approach to its partners, promote the effectiveness and value of ASEAN-led mechanisms, and better the building of mutual trust and understanding for cooperation in response to emerging issues.
 Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son (Photo: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs) |
Addressing the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat in Jakarta, Indonesia on Saturday, the Vietnamese minister stressed that ASEAN needs to maintain solidarity, self-reliance and flexible adaptation, strengthen internal resources, and promote its centrality.
He reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security and safety of navigation and aviation in the East Sea, emphasizing the necessity for the group to strengthen its principle stance, and uphold international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), towards a rules-based regional maritime order, and effectively protecting the legitimate interests of all coastal states.
On this occasion, Son announced Vietnam's plans to hold several meetings within the ASEAN-China framework on the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), as well as the Republic of Korea Day in ASEAN.