A special Senior Officials Meeting of ASEAN (ASEAN SOM) took place inHanoi on June 27 to discuss the bloc’s central role and strategicorientations for the future regional structure.
The Vietnamese delegation to the meeting was led by Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Vinh.
The meeting, initiated by Vietnam at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’Meeting in Nay Pyi Taw in May, is the first step in the process ofdiscussion on a regional structure in the period ahead, particularlyafter the ASEAN Community takes shape in 2015.
The meeting assessed the impact of recent developments on thegeostrategy in the region and challenges posed to ASEAN’s central role.The officials also debated ways to maintain and uphold ASEAN’s centralrole and drafted a strategy to help ASEAN better adopt to a newstrategic environment while enhancing the bloc’s common voice andresponsibility regarding issues related to the region’s strategicinterests.
At the event, ASEAN officials agreedthat the regional geostrategic circumstances are changing fast, withmany complicated developments deeply affecting the environment of peace,security, stability and development in the region.
ASEAN is now in a key period in the formation of the ASEAN Communityby December 31, 2015, and big powers’ increasingly deep and extensiveinterference in regional cooperation is posing not only opportunitiesbut also challenges to the bloc in maintaining its central role in theregion. At the same time, growing regional economic connectivity throughsuch frameworks as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership(RCEP), the Trans-Asia Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the tradeliberalisation process within APEC also test
ASEAN’s ability inmaintaining its centrality and role as the primary driving force in thecoming period. Besides, ASEAN also needs to consider new proposals oncooperative structures and the regional security environment.
In this context, ASEAN members stressed that the bloc more than everneed to strengthen and maintain its central role in the region,particularly in preserving unity to promote ASEAN’s common interests,seeking ways to deal with major powers and proactively expressing itsstance and proposing solutions for issues arising in the region.
Accordingly, they said ASEAN should define a common approach tostrategic issues in the region in order to ensure the bloc’s commoninterests, while strengthening mechanisms for cooperation within thebloc and between the bloc and partners with a view to enhancing itscapacity in dealing with traditional and non-traditional securitychallenges, particularly sea and island disputes, natural disasters andepidemics.
On the other hand, they agreed thatASEAN should push forward its consultation process in order to achieveconsensus and a common voice through harmonising national and regionalinterests.
ASEAN should continue building aregional structure on the basis of existing regional cooperativemechanisms in which it plays the core role, while working harder tobuild and share ASEAN’s codes of conducts, values and basic principlestowards the goal of putting in place a common code of conducts for theentire region.
All participants affirmed thatthe on-going complicated developments in the East Sea have seriouslyaffected peace, stability, maritime security and safety in the region.Therefore, this is a matter of common concern on which ASEAN shouldraise its voice to demonstrate the bloc’s central role andresponsibility. They said ASEAN should speak out to support themaintenance of peace, security and stability in the region.
The participants underlined the need to abide by international law,the 1982 United Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS) andrelated agreements in the region, especially the serious and fullimplementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the EastSea (DOC) to which China is a signatory, without the use of or threat touse force, while working towards an early conclusion of a Code ofConduct on the East Sea (COC), in order to better ensure peace,stability and security in the region.
Heads ofSOM ASEAN also discussed the outcomes of the ASEAN-China JointWorking Group which took place in Bali from June 24-25 and gaveinstructions on the implementation of the DOC and pushing fornegotiations with China on the COC.
DeputyForeign Minister Vinh said in the current regional context, ASEAN needsto promote unity and demonstrate its responsibility in issues related topeace, security and development in the region in order to uphold itscentral role. In particular, ASEAN should be more proactive in buildingcodes of conduct in the region and bringing into play its core role inregional mechanisms such as ASEAN+1, ASEAN+3, the East Asia Summit(EAS), ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and ASEAN Defence Ministers’ MeetingPlus (ADMM+).
The Vietnamese official updatedthe meeting on the complicated developments in the East Sea as a resultof China’s illegal placement of its Haiyan Shiyou-981 rig together withmany escort ships including military ships and aircraft deep insideVietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.
He said Chinese ships continuously conduct provocative acts such asdeliberately ramming and causing damage to Vietnamese law enforcementand civil vessels, stressing that these acts seriously violateinternational law, the 1982 UNCLOS and the DOC signed by ASEAN andChina.
He spoke highly of the statement ofASEAN foreign ministers issued on May 10 and called on ASEAN tointensify efforts to ensure that international law, the UNCLOS, the DOCand ASEAN statements be enforced in reality, first of all China put anend to its acts and immediately pull its rig and ships out of Vietnam’swaters.
More than ever before, ASEAN shouldtake the initiative in proposing mechanism to ensure that stipulationsof the DOC are respected and a COC is achieved as soon as possible,Deputy FM Vinh said.
He affirmed that this isASEAN’s responsibility, and the bloc should demonstrate its central rolein dealing with important issues in the region.-VNA
The Vietnamese delegation to the meeting was led by Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Vinh.
The meeting, initiated by Vietnam at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’Meeting in Nay Pyi Taw in May, is the first step in the process ofdiscussion on a regional structure in the period ahead, particularlyafter the ASEAN Community takes shape in 2015.
The meeting assessed the impact of recent developments on thegeostrategy in the region and challenges posed to ASEAN’s central role.The officials also debated ways to maintain and uphold ASEAN’s centralrole and drafted a strategy to help ASEAN better adopt to a newstrategic environment while enhancing the bloc’s common voice andresponsibility regarding issues related to the region’s strategicinterests.
At the event, ASEAN officials agreedthat the regional geostrategic circumstances are changing fast, withmany complicated developments deeply affecting the environment of peace,security, stability and development in the region.
ASEAN is now in a key period in the formation of the ASEAN Communityby December 31, 2015, and big powers’ increasingly deep and extensiveinterference in regional cooperation is posing not only opportunitiesbut also challenges to the bloc in maintaining its central role in theregion. At the same time, growing regional economic connectivity throughsuch frameworks as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership(RCEP), the Trans-Asia Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the tradeliberalisation process within APEC also test
ASEAN’s ability inmaintaining its centrality and role as the primary driving force in thecoming period. Besides, ASEAN also needs to consider new proposals oncooperative structures and the regional security environment.
In this context, ASEAN members stressed that the bloc more than everneed to strengthen and maintain its central role in the region,particularly in preserving unity to promote ASEAN’s common interests,seeking ways to deal with major powers and proactively expressing itsstance and proposing solutions for issues arising in the region.
Accordingly, they said ASEAN should define a common approach tostrategic issues in the region in order to ensure the bloc’s commoninterests, while strengthening mechanisms for cooperation within thebloc and between the bloc and partners with a view to enhancing itscapacity in dealing with traditional and non-traditional securitychallenges, particularly sea and island disputes, natural disasters andepidemics.
On the other hand, they agreed thatASEAN should push forward its consultation process in order to achieveconsensus and a common voice through harmonising national and regionalinterests.
ASEAN should continue building aregional structure on the basis of existing regional cooperativemechanisms in which it plays the core role, while working harder tobuild and share ASEAN’s codes of conducts, values and basic principlestowards the goal of putting in place a common code of conducts for theentire region.
All participants affirmed thatthe on-going complicated developments in the East Sea have seriouslyaffected peace, stability, maritime security and safety in the region.Therefore, this is a matter of common concern on which ASEAN shouldraise its voice to demonstrate the bloc’s central role andresponsibility. They said ASEAN should speak out to support themaintenance of peace, security and stability in the region.
The participants underlined the need to abide by international law,the 1982 United Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS) andrelated agreements in the region, especially the serious and fullimplementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the EastSea (DOC) to which China is a signatory, without the use of or threat touse force, while working towards an early conclusion of a Code ofConduct on the East Sea (COC), in order to better ensure peace,stability and security in the region.
Heads ofSOM ASEAN also discussed the outcomes of the ASEAN-China JointWorking Group which took place in Bali from June 24-25 and gaveinstructions on the implementation of the DOC and pushing fornegotiations with China on the COC.
DeputyForeign Minister Vinh said in the current regional context, ASEAN needsto promote unity and demonstrate its responsibility in issues related topeace, security and development in the region in order to uphold itscentral role. In particular, ASEAN should be more proactive in buildingcodes of conduct in the region and bringing into play its core role inregional mechanisms such as ASEAN+1, ASEAN+3, the East Asia Summit(EAS), ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and ASEAN Defence Ministers’ MeetingPlus (ADMM+).
The Vietnamese official updatedthe meeting on the complicated developments in the East Sea as a resultof China’s illegal placement of its Haiyan Shiyou-981 rig together withmany escort ships including military ships and aircraft deep insideVietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.
He said Chinese ships continuously conduct provocative acts such asdeliberately ramming and causing damage to Vietnamese law enforcementand civil vessels, stressing that these acts seriously violateinternational law, the 1982 UNCLOS and the DOC signed by ASEAN andChina.
He spoke highly of the statement ofASEAN foreign ministers issued on May 10 and called on ASEAN tointensify efforts to ensure that international law, the UNCLOS, the DOCand ASEAN statements be enforced in reality, first of all China put anend to its acts and immediately pull its rig and ships out of Vietnam’swaters.
More than ever before, ASEAN shouldtake the initiative in proposing mechanism to ensure that stipulationsof the DOC are respected and a COC is achieved as soon as possible,Deputy FM Vinh said.
He affirmed that this isASEAN’s responsibility, and the bloc should demonstrate its central rolein dealing with important issues in the region.-VNA
