VietNamNet Bridge – Tran Viet Thai, PhD from the Viet Nam Diplomatic Academy spoke to the newspaper Nong Thon Ngay Nay (Countryside Today) about the situation in the East Sea following the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore last week.
The 15th Shangri-La Dialogue: Asia Security Summit in Singapore ended on June 5th after a three day meeting. In your opinion, what were the most important points discussed at the dialogue?
The 15th Shangri-La Dialogue this year took place in a complicated context with more acute challenges arising from four main issues. They are the East Sea dispute; missile tests in North Korea; the fight against IS; and acute non-traditional challenges - on immigration and climate change.
How do you evaluate the discussion on the East Sea in the Shangri-La Dialogue?
The discussion on the East Sea this year took place at the time when China is stepping up its sea patrols in the area and constructing military bases on small islands. In addition, China has issued several declarations that it does not recognise the verdict to be handed down by the UN Arbitration Court on China’s dispute with the Philippines.
What I should mention here is that the Sino-US dispute around the East Sea issue this year was not as acute as at last year’s dialogue. In my opinion, China had adopted an active policy and prepared well for the event. Many delegates attending the dialogue were surprised at the modest and courteous attitude adopted by the Chinese delegation at the meeting, particularly Admiral Sun Jianguo, the deputy chief of the Joint Staff Department of China’s Central Military Commission and head of the Chinese delegation.
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