VietNamNet Bridge – Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister Le Hoai Trung speaks to the press about the role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in resolving the simmering East Sea (South China Sea) dispute.
How is ASEAN handling the East Sea dispute so far, in your opinion?
ASEAN has reached a consensus on the East Sea dispute, one of which is that maintaining peace, stability and co-operation in the East Sea plays a key and inseparable role for peace, stability and co-operation in the whole Southeast Asia region.
The East Sea, therefore, is in the mutual interests of all ASEAN member nations and even of the international community, judging from its geographical strategic location for global transportation, the economy and security, both for countries inside and outside the region.
As a matter of fact, the East Sea is deemed by governments, researchers and the media as one of the places most significantly at risk of conflict, as there have been tensions concerning the international community.
And the second consensus of ASEAN regarding the principle to resolve the East Sea dispute is that all countries have to abide by international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982. Particularly, parties must not resort to threat or use of force, but only dialogues and other peaceful means to resolve their disputes.
ASEAN and China have to effectively follow the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), of which there are three key contents. Item number four is about peaceful dispute resolution principles, while numbers five and six, respectively, are about exercising self-restraint to avoid the escalation of disputes and further co-operation towards establishing a Code of Conduct (COC) in the East Sea.
ASEAN’s task is determining how to bring about measures that both ASEAN and China can carry out together to more effectively implement the DOC. The DOC is just a non-binding principle and ASEAN wants to negotiate with China to reach the COC, which is legally binding between signed parties. That would help to further sustain peace, stability and co-operation in the East Sea.
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