Bangkok (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign AffairsPham Binh Minh on July 31 expressed his grave concern over the recentdevelopments in the East Sea, with Chinese geological survey vessel groupHaiyang Dizhi 8’s activities violating Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone andcontinental shelf in the waters.

Attending the ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in the framework of the 52nd ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM-52) in Bangkok, Minh also stressed theactions seriously threaten legitimate rights of coastal countries, erode trust,and worsen tension, thus hurting peace and stability in the region.

Minh took note of the progress in the negotiations of the code of conduct ofparties in the East Sea (COC) while reiterating ASEAN’s consistent stance onthe importance of enhancing confidence, non-militarisation, preventing actionsthat complicate the situation, and upholding international laws, including the1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982), towardsachieving an effective COC.

Highlighting the strategic significance of the ASEAN-China relations, theofficial affirmed that Vietnam will join hands with other ASEAN member statesto promote the partnership and collaboration between the sides, especially inthe fields of mutual interest like economy-trade-investment, sustainabledevelopment, response to the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0), andpeople-to-people exchange, among others.

At the event, ASEAN and Chinese foreign ministers discussed recent developmentsin the East Sea, many of them underlined the importance of building trust aswell as ensuring peace, stability, safety and freedom of navigation and aviationin the waters.

The ASEAN ministers emphasized the necessity to uphold and comply withinternational laws, including the UNCLOS 1982, the Declaration on the Conductof Parties in the East Sea (DOC), toward perfecting an effective COC.

Regarding the ASEAN-China relations, they spoke highly of the positivedevelopments in the comprehensive ties in various sectors. Both sides agreed tocontinue efforts towards 1 trillion USD in trade value and 150 billion USD ininvestment by 2020, as well as boost cooperation in potential areas of digitaleconomic development, e-commerce, innovation and response to the Industry 4.0,and sustainable development.

They hailed initiatives at the 22nd ASEAN-China Summit in 2018 onsmart city development, boosting media exchange and integrating ASEANConnectivity master plan with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

They pledged early completion of the Regional Comprehensive EconomicPartnership (RCEP) and support for law-abiding multilateral trade.

On the occasion, they officially launched the ASEAN-China Young LeadersScholarship Programme, and reached consensus on stepping up cultural andpeople-to-people exchanges.

They were also unanimous about discussing and building the ASEAN-China ActionPlan during 2021-2025.-VNA