Vientiane (VNA) – Vietnam’s Defence Minister Ngo Xuan Lich has called for stronger cooperation among ASEAN member nations, along with more effective ties with other countries, including China and the US, to address the East Sea issue.
He made the call at the ASEAN Defence Minister’s Meeting (ADMM) Retreat in Vientiane, Laos, on November 16, noting that ensuring security, safety and freedom of navigation in the East Sea is one of the problems that need the bloc’s attention.
The minister said the region still witnesses complex developments which have jeopardised peace and stability and worried the international community.
ASEAN and ADMM leaders have, for many times, emphasised the necessity for maintaining regional peace and stability, and that all disputes must be resolved through peaceful means based on international law.
Lich shared other ASEAN defence ministers’ assessment that dialogue and cooperation for peace, stability and development are still the main trend in relations among countries, which is a result of ASEAN’s spirit of solidarity and unity as well as its principle of consensus.
Read the full story at VietnamPlus