Sri lankan foreign minister

/ November 11, 2020

South China Sea continues overshadowing ASEAN Foreign Ministers meeting

The Hanoitimes - The foreign ministers called for the full and serious implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC). All foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have agreed that the South China Sea continue to be a challenging issue and posing threats to regional peace and security. Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh at the AMM on November 10. Photo: Hai Minh Unilateral activities, including militarization, unsubstantiated sovereignty claims, and continuous coercion have harmed the stability in the resources-rich sea, top diplomats of the 10-member bloc’s member states expressed concerns at the online ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) held on November 10. Given this, the countries reiterated ASEAN’s stance and principles of peace and stability in the South China Sea and emphasized the role of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS). They called for the full and serious implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), and looked forward to the building of an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) in line with international law and the 1982 UNCLOS. For that reason, solidarity is the key factor to ensure peace, stability, independence and self-reliance amidst global uncertainties, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh said at the meeting. Vietnam is committed to closely coordinating with other ASEAN countries and China to fully and effectively implement the DOC and soon reach a result-oriented COC in line with international law, especially the 1982 UNCLOS, he pledged. Pandemic response The online ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) held on November 10. Photo: Hai Minh The top diplomats discussed ways to maintain economic …

/ August 17, 2020

ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Statement sends message to both Beijing and Washington

The Hanoitimes - ASEAN foreign ministers' first-time statement stresses the importance of multilateralism. Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have stressed the importance of maintaining peace and stability in Southeast Asia as a message to both the US and China, according to Emeritus Prof. Carl Thayer, one of the world’s leading experts on Vietnam and the South China Sea. ASEAN foreign ministers at the retreat held in Vietnam in January 2020. Photo: Asean2020.vn The message is conveyed in the statement released earlier this month on the occasion of the 53 rd anniversary of the ASEAN establishment to highlight the ASEAN centrality and ASEAN-led mechanisms in constructive engagement. “In other words, ASEAN and its members will not join a US-led anti-China grouping and neither will they join China and exclude the US from regional affairs,” said Carl Thayer, a professor at the University of New South Wales, Canberra. The scholar gave the analysis at a time when ASEAN foreign ministers issued this kind of statement for the first time. In the statement, they called on ‘all countries to exercise self-restraint… and refrain from the threat or use of force, and to resolve differences and disputes by peaceful means in accordance with international law.’ Rise in US-China strategic rivalry Prof. Thayer gave an overview on the current situation in Southeast Asia, in which the rise in intensity of US-China strategic rivalry across a number of issues namely trade disputes, response to the coronavirus pandemic, and South China Sea disputes has threatened both the security of individual ASEAN member states and ASEAN centrality in regional security. The US amphibious assault ship USS America arrives at the Sattahip Naval Base in Chonburi, Thailand, ahead of the joint 'Cobra Gold' military exercise on February 22, 2020. Photo: AFP/ Handout/ Royal Thai Navy Both China and the US …

/ January 18, 2020

ASEAN foreign ministers express concerns about South China Sea developments

The Hanoitimes - The top diplomats reaffirmed the importance of the full and effective implementation of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC). The foreign ministers of 10 ASEAN member states have been concerned about developments in the South China Sea, including land reclamations, recent developments and serious incidents. ASEAN foreign ministers at the retreat held in Nha Trang city. Photo: VNA The regional top diplomats expressed concerns at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat which concluded in Nha Trang city, Vietnam on January 17, 2020. The Retreat is the first gathering of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers meetings in 2020 under the theme “Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN” to be held in Vietnam, which is chairing ASEAN. Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh, Chairman of the retreat. Photo: VGP During the sitting, the foreign ministers discussed the situation in the South China Sea, saying that the developments have “eroded trust and confidence, increased tensions and may undermine peace, security and stability in the region,” according to the press statement by the Chairman of the Retreat. “We reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, security, stability, safety and freedom of navigation in and overflight above the South China Sea and recognized the benefits of having the South China Sea as a sea of peace, stability and prosperity,” the press statement showed. “We underscored the importance of the full and effective implementation of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in its entirety. We were encouraged by the progress of the substantive negotiations towards the early conclusion of an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) that is consistent with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS.” “We emphasized the need to maintain and promote an …