International conference on East Sea opens in Danang

​The two-day event, jointly held by the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, the Foundation for East Sea Studies (FESS) and the Vietnam Lawyers Association, attracted the participation of more than 200 Vietnamese and international academics and representatives of diplomatic corps in Vietnam.

The delegates discussed factors that impact on the East Sea issue, international law and cooperation, and measures to build trust at sea and preventive diplomacy.

In his opening speech, President of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam Dang Dinh Quy said in 2014 the East Sea issue developed more complicatedly than in previous decades.

He emphasized that recent views on East Sea-related issues are contradictory. Some say the East Sea is enjoying peace, stability and free navigation and aviation. Others say peace, stability and free transport are seriously threatened, and conflicts may occur if concerned parties do not constrain themselves and make greater cooperative efforts, Quy reported.

He pointed out the fact that the environment in the East Sea has been degraded, thus reducing marine resources and changing the status quo. Many serious incidents took place in the East Sea this year weakening confidence among concerned parties, he said.

Quy reiterated that sovereignty disputes in the East Sea should be addressed via peaceful solutions in accordance with international law, particularly the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) towards the building of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC). The international community calls on concerned parties not to make any action that causes tension in the East Sea, he stated.

Quy called on the participating scholars to compare notes on recent actions in the East Sea, as well as interests and policies of concerned parties.

He also asked participants to make new proposals and contributions to ensuring peace and stability in the East Sea, which he said, is experiencing more tensions.

State leaders should carefully consider the interest of their nations before deciding to undertake actions regarding the East Sea in order to establish effective mechanisms to control disputes and conflicts at sea, Quy said.

Chairman of the Danang municipal People’s Committee Van Huu Chien said as one of the localities bordering the East Sea, the city’s security, economic development and social stability will directly affected by any development at sea.

“More than ever, the current situation in the East Sea is posing an urgent demand for a long-term solution to regional disputes” he said, affirming that the issue could only be solved with full consciousness and profound understanding of emerging challenges and opportunities, as well as the concerted efforts of all the parties involved.

Chien asked the participating experts to discuss boosting maritime economic cooperation, maintaining the investment climate, increasing economic, trade and tourism ties, and ensuring the safety of fishermen.

He also suggested seeking the role and contributions of littoral localities of countries concerned in safeguarding peace and accelerating cooperation in the East Sea.

Myint Thu, Deputy Director of the ASEAN Affairs Department under the Foreign Ministry of Myanmar, said the East Sea issue remained a high priority for the bloc.

ASEAN leaders adopted a number of declarations emphasising the importance of peace, stability and maritime security in the region, and abiding by the DOC and the Six-Point Principles on the East Sea.

He reiterated the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ requirement that parties involved must not use or threaten to use force to handle disputes and should accelerate the negotiations on a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

The Joint Statement of the recently-ended 25th ASEAN Summit reaffirms the bloc’s aspiration and agrees to speed up measures in order to better control the situation in the East Sea, he added.