International law should be used as a "compass" for activities in the East Sea.

(HNMO) - On May 17, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the 20th ASEAN-China Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) on the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (SOM-DOC) took place on the same day in Ha Long city (Quang Ninh province).

Representatives of countries attending the conference.

Held after nearly two years of interruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this SOM DOC meeting was co-chaired by Myanmar, the coordinator of ASEAN-China relations, and China. Ambassador Vu Ho, Acting Head of SOM ASEAN Vietnam, led the Vietnamese delegation to attend the meetings.

At the conference, countries highly appreciated a number of positive results in implementing the DOC in recent times despite the region being deeply affected by the pandemic. Many specific cooperation activities have been implemented effectively and according to plan, including cooperation in protecting the marine environment, marine scientific research, humane and fair treatment of fishermen, and search and rescue at sea.

However, the countries also shared concerns about some complicated developments in the East Sea in recent times, which have eroded trust, increased tensions, and affected the legitimate rights and interests of countries bordering the East Sea. Accordingly, they emphasized that ASEAN and China need to seriously, effectively and fully implement the DOC in all its provisions.

The countries also reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace , stability, security, safety, freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea; respecting principles such as exercising restraint, not using or threatening to use force, and peacefully resolving disputes on the basis of international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The SOM DOC meeting acknowledged the progress in the negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) and discussed the orientations for the COC negotiation process carried out by the Joint Working Group on the DOC (JWG DOC). The countries also emphasized the need to achieve an effective, substantive COC in accordance with international law and the 1982 UNCLOS, contributing to building trust, confidence, and more effective management of incidents in the East Sea.

Speaking at the conference, Ambassador Vu Ho emphasized that the East Sea is the world's vital shipping route, therefore maintaining and promoting peace, stability, security, safety, freedom of navigation and aviation in this sea area is not only the common interest and responsibility of ASEAN and China, but also demonstrates the responsibility of both sides to the international community.

Given the complicated developments in the East Sea and the continued unilateral actions that violate international law, the Ambassador suggested that countries promote "words go hand in hand with actions", turning political commitments into specific and appropriate actions on the ground.

In that spirit, Ambassador Vu Ho emphasized that it is necessary to take the provisions of international law and UNCLOS as a “compass” for activities in the East Sea. While stepping up efforts to achieve a substantive, effective COC that is consistent with international law and UNCLOS and supported by the international community, countries need to seriously and fully implement all provisions of the DOC. This effort will also contribute to creating a favorable environment for the COC negotiation process.

At the end, the conference unanimously proposed that China host the 21st SOM-DOC Conference, scheduled to take place in the fourth quarter of 2023.

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