Manila (VNA) – Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc onNovember 14 emphasised cooperation orientations for East Asia while speaking atthe 12th East Asia Summit (EAS 12) with eight partner nations inManila, the Philippines, as part of the 31st ASEAN Summit and related meetings. PM Phuc said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as wellas other countries in the world is facing numerous challenges, includingterrorism, violent extremism, nuclear proliferation, cyber security andmaritime security. He shared his concerns over the situation in the Korean Peninsula,particularly recent ballistic and nuclear missile tests by the DemocraticPeople’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), threatening peace and stability in theregion. In that context, the PM urged the involved parties to increase dialoguesand practical cooperation; build an open, balanced, transparent and rule-basedregional architecture; promote the EAS’s role in addressing regionalchallenges. He welcomed the EAS to bring marine cooperation into a new priorityfield.

Regarding the East Sea issue, PM Phuc reiterated ASEAN’s stance,including principles stated in the Joint Communiqué of the 50th ASEAN ForeignMinisters' Meeting in August 2017, which are ensuring security, safety andfreedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea; addressing disputes viapeaceful measures in line with international law, including the United NationsConvention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS); not using force and militarising;fully respecting legal and diplomatic processes; and implementingcomprehensively and seriously the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in theEast Sea (DOC) and soon reaching a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

The PM welcomed ASEAN’s and China’s adoption ofa framework for the COC in August and stressed the nee🏅d to promote negotiationsfor a feasible, legally-binding COC in accordance with international law,including the UNCLOS, to maintain peace and stability in the East Sea in thelong run.

At the summit, the countries discussed strategic issues related topolitics-security and economic development in the region. They agreed to promote cooperation in various fields and increase therole of the summit, especially in the formation of an open, balanced,transparent and rule-based regional architecture.

Leaders agreed to supplement marine cooperation as a new priority fieldof the EAS in order to strengthen collaboration in sharing information,scientific research, and marine environmental protection in addition to copingwith non-traditional security challenges at sea such as piracy, armed robbery, transnationalcrime, maritime pollution, and navigation accidents.

They called on countries to enhance cooperationto cope with challenges such as🦄 terrorism, violent extremism, trans-boundarymatters, cyber security, human trafficking and climate change.

The leaders exchanged views on regional and international issues andexpressed concerns over recent developments in the Korean Peninsula, the EastSea and Myanmar’s Rakhine state. At the event, the leaders agreed to adopt declarations on anti-moneylaundering and countering financing for terrorism, preventing the spread ofterrorism and chemical weapons, and cooperating to reduce poverty. The EAS brings together ten members of ASEAN (Brunei, Cambodia,Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippine, Singapore, Thailand andVietnam), and the bloc’s partners, Australia, China, India, Japan, the Republicof Korea, New Zealand, Russia, and the US.-VNA