Cooperation should be combined with competitive negotiations to address the region’s security challenges, said Deputy Defence Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh when discussing the message Vietnam brought to the 15th Shangri-La Dialogue.
Cooperation without competitive negotiations will prevent Vietnam from getting equality on the basis of international law, while competitive negotiations without cooperation will lead to confrontation and conflicts, Vinh stated in his interview with Vietnam News Agency correspondents in Singapore on June 5 after the dialogue’s fourth plenary session.
He said that during this year’s dialogue, the East Sea issue continued to be the focus of the event.
On the East Sea issue, Vietnam’s consistent point of view is to settle the issue by peaceful means on the basis of international law.
The country is implementing this policy by affirming its sovereignty over its Truong Sa (Spratly) and Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelagoes and its continental shelf.
Vietnam opposes all declarations that differ from the country’s sovereign ones as Vietnam’s claims are backed by historical evidence and conform with international law.
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