VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam has requested other countries in the region not to use force against fishermen and other people working at sea.

Deputy Defence Minister, Senior Lieut.Gen Nguyen Chi Vinh made the request at the ASEAN Defence Senior Officials’ Meeting Plus (ADSOM+) in Brunei on April 4.

As a nation with its long coastline embracing the East Sea, Vietnam always shows its concern and high sense of responsibility for ensuring peace and stability in the East Sea. The country requests parties concerned to settle disputes through peaceful dialogues in accordance with international and regional treaties, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), ASEAN’s six-point principle on the East Sea, the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in East Sea (DOC) towards the Code of Conduct (COC).   

Vietnam will do its utmost to ensure international maritime freedom, safety and security in the territorial waters and continental shelves under its control, Vinh said.

Other delegates also spoke highly of the results of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+) cooperation since its establishment in Hanoi in 2010 and wished that the cooperation process would continue to develop in the time to come.

They voiced support for Vietnam’s new initiative on establishing a group of experts to overcome the consequences of unexploded ordnance left from the wars in the ADMM+ framework. They said they will also support Vietnam and India in co-chairing the group so that the initiative will be launched as soon as possible.

On the sidelines of the conference, Senior Lieut. Gen Vinh who is head of the Vietnamese delegation had bilateral meetings with his counterparts from China, the US, the Republic of Korea, Singapore and the host country with the aim of boosting future defence cooperation.

Source: VOV