Deputy Minister of Public Security Senior Lieutenant General Bui Van Nam (Photo: VNA) Addressing the fourth special discussion on practical measuresto prevent encounters at sea in Singapore on June 3 as part of the 16thShangri-La Dialogue, Deputy Minister Nam said that a state must not find excusessuch as internal law to ignore requests to settle incidents at sea sent throughthe hotline.
At the same time, the CUES must be applied for all governmentvessels operating in the East Sea, including military and semi-military ships,he said.
He added that the ASEAN and China should work together forthe early formation of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) which isbinding, comprehensive, practical and acts as an effective tool to preventdisputes and maintain peace, stability, navigation and overflight security andsafety in the East Sea.
Meanwhile, all countries should foster their cooperation inless sensitive areas at sea, including scientific research, maritimeenvironment protection, natural disaster prevention, search, rescue and respondto terrorism, piracy, human trafficking, illegal migration, thus strengthenmutual understanding and minimise actions that may lead to misunderstanding anddisputes, he said.
The enhancement of partnership at sea must be in line with fulland strict implementation of international law, especially the UN Convention onthe Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS) and other regional agreements, as well as therespect for sovereignty and interest of other countries and ensuring thevoluntary and responsible engagement of all sides for common interest.
Deputy Minister Bui Van Nam clarified that the internationalcommunity should consider the establishment of a mechanism on gathering andconnecting articles in existing international conventions and supplementing newones to build shared codes of conduct and collective interference mechanism inunexpected situations at sea.
A comprehensive legal framework will help improveresponsibility to implement international legal regulations and reduce therisks of dispute at sea, he stressed.
Nam affirmed Vietnam’s commitments to actively cooperatingwith ASEAN member countries and other states in and outside the region throughregional and international forums such as the ASEAN, East Asia Summit, theASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus, and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), thuscontributing to speeding up the building of trust and realising of preventivediplomatic measures to minimise risks of encounters and disputes at sea.
Vietnam supports all initiatives and cooperation mechanismsbenefiting the maintenance of peace, stability and promoting the peaceful settlementof disputes at sea on the basis of international law, he stated.
The Deputy Minister stressed that Vietnam backs theimplementation of cooperation initiatives and projects at sea based on observingrelevant international law and agreements, respecting and harmonising interestof all sides, as well as the increase of information and coordination inactions among governments, international organisations, experts and scholars onsea and ocean, thus contributing to building and implementing measures toprevent disputes at sea.
Participants also agreed that in order to handle disputes atsea, all parties should reach a joint perspective and not complicate thesituation, while settling all issues through peaceful measures.
Earlier the same day, three special discussions were held onthe nuclear danger in the region, new methods in security partnership anddefence significance of new technology.-VNA
VNA
