In Ha Long, ASEAN officials

Previously, ASEAN countries met to coordinate their stance.

Ambassador Vu Ho, Acting Head of SOM ASEAN Vietnam, led the Vietnamese delegation to attend the conference.

This SOM-DOC meeting was held after nearly two years of interruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Myanmar - the coordinator of ASEAN-China relations, and China co-chaired it.

Ambassador Vu Ho emphasized the need to take the provisions of international law and UNCLOS as a "compass" for activities in the East Sea.

At the conference, the countries reaffirmed the value and importance of the DOC to the region; accordingly, they highly appreciated a number of positive results in implementing the DOC in recent times.

Many specific cooperation activities have been effectively implemented according to plan, including cooperation in marine environmental protection, marine scientific research, humane and fair treatment of fishermen, search and rescue at sea, etc. The countries also acknowledged the activities to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the signing of the DOC, which will be held in 2022.

In addition, the countries also shared concerns about some complicated developments in the East Sea in recent times, which have eroded trust, increased tensions, and affected the legitimate rights and interests of the countries bordering the East Sea. Representatives of the countries emphasized that ASEAN and China need to seriously, effectively and fully implement the DOC in all its provisions.

The countries also reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace , stability, security, safety, freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea; respecting principles such as exercising restraint, not using or threatening to use force, and resolving disputes by peaceful means on the basis of international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Representatives of countries attending the conference.

The SOM-DOC meeting acknowledged the progress in the negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) and exchanged orientations for the COC negotiation process carried out by the DOC Working Group (JWG DOC).

The countries also emphasized the need to achieve an effective, substantive COC that is consistent with international law and UNCLOS 1982, contributing to building trust, confidence, and more effective management of incidents in the East Sea.

Ambassador Vu Ho affirmed that the East Sea is the world 's vital shipping route, therefore maintaining and promoting peace, stability, security, safety, freedom of navigation and aviation in this sea area is not only the common interest and responsibility of ASEAN and China, but also demonstrates the responsibility of both sides to the international community.

Given the complicated developments in the East Sea and the continued unilateral actions violating international law, the Ambassador suggested that countries promote “practice and words”, turning political commitments into concrete and appropriate actions on the ground.

In that spirit, the Ambassador emphasized the need to take the provisions of international law and UNCLOS as a “compass” for activities in the East Sea. While stepping up efforts to achieve a substantive, effective COC that is consistent with international law and UNCLOS and supported by the international community, countries need to seriously and fully implement all provisions of the DOC. This effort will also contribute to creating a favorable environment for the COC negotiation process.

At the end, the conference agreed on China's proposal to host the 21st SOM-DOC conference, scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2023.

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