HANOI: The foreign ministers of ASEAN issued a statement on Saturday, expressing concern over the recent developments in the East Sea.
They reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, safety, security, stability, and freedom of navigation in and overflight above the maritime sphere of Southeast Asia, particularly the East Sea, reported Vietnam News Agency (VNA).
“We also reaffirm the need to restore and enhance mutual trust and confidence as well as exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability, avoid actions that may further complicate the situation and pursue peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with the universally recognised principles of international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea),” said the statement.
The foreign ministers underscored the importance of the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) in its entirety and committed to working towards the early conclusion of an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) that is in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS.
They also reiterated the importance of peaceful dialogue that contributes constructively to the promotion of regional stability and cooperation in the maritime domain.
Welcoming the recent maritime dialogue between China and the United States in Beijing and the meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Meeting in California, they hoped that such dialogues will continue to further ASEAN’s efforts to strengthen stability and cooperation in the region’s maritime sphere.
This marked the fifth occasion ASEAN has addressed maritime issues since 1995, with the most recent statement concerning the East Sea released in 2014.–Bernama-VMA
