Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia (Photo: VNA) This meeting was the firstin-person event among ASEAN leaders in 2021 and after nearly 18 months ASEANmeetings had to take place via videoconference due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In an interview with themedia after the trip, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Quoc Dung said themeeting was held amid new and very complex COVID-19 outbreaks in many regionalcountries. However, regional leaders were still determined to meetface-to-face, showing the member states’ commitment and enormous efforts toovercome difficulties and deal with urgent issues emerging.
The Vietnamese PM attendedthe meeting less than 20 days after he took office, which demonstrated thecountry’s proactiveness, activeness, and responsibility for regional issues.
With its stature in ASEAN,especially after serving as Chair of the grouping in 2020 and now the onlyASEAN member in the United Nations Security Council and the Council Presidentfor April, Vietnam’s participation and contributions were highly expected bythe international and regional community, and the Vietnamese delegation led byPM Chinh has met that expectation.
Dung elaborated that the PM’sopinions and proposals received support from other ASEAN leaders as they matchedthe bloc’s current concerns and priorities, especially COVID-19 control,recovery promotion, and ways to effectively respond to new matters.
The PM took the occasion to promotethe outcomes achieved during the 2020 ASEAN Chairmanship, and integrate theissues Vietnam has interests in like the East Sea and the Mekong River onesinto ASEAN’s cooperation orientations.
He asked ASEAN to payattention to narrowing the development gap in sub-regions, including the Mekongsub-region, and ensuring that no regions or areas are left behind, particularlywhen COVID-19 impacts are widening the development gap in ASEAN, Dung noted.
The Vietnamese leader heldthat the trust and goodwill of relevant sides should be reflected via actionsin reality and the avoidance of any move that may escalate tensions orcomplicate the situation.
He emphasised that ASEANshould sustain its principled stance on the East Sea issue, includingmaintaining peace, stability, security, and safety of navigation andoverflight; complying with international law, including the 1982 United NationsConvention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); seriously implementing the Declarationon the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC); and soon finalising anefficient and effective Code of Conduct (COC) in the waters, according toDeputy Minister Dung.
Sharing other leaders’viewpoints on international and regional issues of common concern, includingthe Myanmar situation, PM Chinh affirmed the respect for the principle of notintervening in other states’ internal affairs, but noted that with the spiritof solidarity of a community, ASEAN could not neglect the issues affecting theregion’s common stability and development.
According to Deputy FM Dung,the Vietnamese PM’s proposals about ways ASEAN can assist Myanmar have manythings in common with other ASEAN leaders’ opinions, which are sending thebloc’s representatives to this country to learn about the situation and meetrelated parties to promote dialogue and seek solutions, while augmentinghumanitarian aid for people.
Talking about efforts byVietnam, as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and President ofthe council for April, in maintaining balanced dialogue about Myanmar at thecouncil, the PM recommended ASEAN countries and Myanmar coordinate closelytogether to join Vietnam in calling for partners to support the bloc’s role inseeking suitable, feasible, fundamental, and substantive solutions to theMyanmar issue, Dung went on.
On the sidelines of themeeting, PM Chinh had a series of bilateral meetings with other ASEAN leaders,including Indonesian President Joko Widodo (host of the ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting),Bruneian Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah (Chair of AEAN in 2021), Cambodian PM HunSen, Singaporean PM Lee Hsien Loong, and Malaysian PM Muhyiddin Yassin.
He also met with heads ofother countries’ delegations like Laos, Thailand, the Philippines, and Myanmarwho congratulated Chinh on his new post and expressed their hope for hisattention to enhancing bilateral ties.
Via PM Chinh’s firsthigh-level diplomatic meetings with important partners in ASEAN, Vietnamreiterated the foreign policy issued at the 13th National PartyCongress, which is attaching importance to developing the cooperation andtraditional friendship with neighbouring and ASEAN countries, Dung said.
The leaders of Vietnam andother countries discussed many strategic issues with important visions andorientations for their relations. They also agreed to work closely and supporteach other at international forums, including in strengthening ASEAN’scentrality and reinforcing links between the bloc and the UN.
PM Chinh also reiterated Vietnam’sconsistent stance on the East Sea issue, stressing the importance of adheringto international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS.
Deputy FM Dung concluded thatthe outcomes of the bilateral activities have created a solid foundation forimplementing Vietnam’s foreign policy towards important partners right from thebeginning of the new Government term, noting that they were also a positivestart helping to set up the cooperative ties and friendship between PM Chinhand other ASEAN leaders./.
VNA
