Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) The forums took place in Manila under the chair of thePhilippines.
Addressing the events, the ambassador, who is also actinghead of the ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) delegation of Vietnam, spokehighly of the role of the AMF and EAMF in promoting maritime cooperation inASEAN and between the bloc and partners.
He called on partners tocontinue supporting and cooperating with ASEAN in a mutual trust andconstructive spirit, and making substantive and effective contributions toactivities of ASEAN’s mechanisms, including the EAMF.
As countries are facing many complicated maritime securityissues, Ho stressed countries’ sense of responsibility towards and goodwill inmaintaining peace, security, stability, and cooperation in sea areas of theregion, including the East Sea, on the basis of promoting dialogue,consultation, adherence with international law and the 1982 United NationsConvention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and serious implementation ofinternational commitments and agreements.
In addition, he noted, together with the post-COVID-19recovery process, the UNCLOS enforcement should be considered comprehensivelyand reasonably, with such issues as marine environment protection and climate changeresponse taken into account.
The Vietnamese diplomat called on countries in the region totake concrete and effective measures for fighting illegal, unreported andunregulated (IUU) fishing, describing this as a long-term and complicated taskthat requires cooperation from all countries and parties.
Particularly, as recovery and development are now a commonpriority in the region, the combat against IUU fishing needs to take people’slife into consideration while impositions or excessive protection measuresshould be avoided or people’s livelihoods could be affected.
At the forums, ASEAN countries and partners reviewed regionalmaritime cooperation and security in the recent past and discussed orientationsfor the forums’ activities for the time ahead.
They stressed the role of the AMF and EAMF in promotingdialogue, improving awareness, boosting multilateral approach, and enhancingcooperation among countries and international and regional organisations tocope with emerging maritime issues.
In the face of increasingly complicated, multi-dimensional,multi-sectoral, and trans-national maritime issues, they shared the view on theneed to bring into play the two mechanisms in coordinating efforts to fostermaritime cooperation in ASEAN and the region.
Participants looked into the situation, impacts, andexperience in dealing with many maritime security challenges, especially thesea level rise caused by climate change, marine pollution, marine debris,piracy, and IUU fishing. They stressed the necessity for establishingmechanisms for bilaterally and multilaterally sharing information in a timelyand effective manner, stepping up trust building, and enhancing the capacity ofcoordinating policies and implementing concerted and overall measures on thebasis of relevant international agreements.
The countries also highlighted the importance of maintainingpeace, stability, security, safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight inthe East Sea and considered this a common interest.
They underlined the need to comply with the 1982 UNCLOS;appealed for self-restraint, no complication of the situation, and peacefulsettlement of disputes on the basis of international law, including the 1982UNCLOS; and supported the full and effective implementation of the Declarationon the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and the building of a code ofconduct (COC) in the waters in line with international law, including the 1982UNCLOS.
The 13th AMF and 11th EAMF are scheduledto be held in Indonesia in 2023./.
VNA
