East Sea issue debated in New Zealand

 The Vietnam Embassy in New Zealand and the Centre for Defence and Security Studies under the University of Massey recently co-hosted a talk on the tension in the East Sea in Wellington.

In her speech at the talk, Dr. Nguyen Lan Anh, Deputy Director of the Centre for East Sea Studies from the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam touched upon major issues such as the historic origin of the issue, updated information and recent images on the happenings, the reasons and effects of the tension in the East Sea, and the prospect of managing and resolving disputes there. 

According to Dr. Anh, in the context of the East Sea tension, the parties concerned need to refrain from implementing unilateral policies that change the status quo in the East Sea to ensure the common interests of maintaining peace, stability, security, safety, and freedom of navigation and aviation at the sea.

It is essential to comply with international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea ( UNCLOS ), fully execute the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), promote practical negotiations of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC ) and cooperation at forums and in existing multilateral mechanisms in which ASEAN plays a central role such as ARF, ADMM, ADMM+, EAS, and clarify claims in the East Sea if they are compatible with international law, Anh said.

The talk drew the participation of 100 university professors, lecturers, and students, diplomats, ministry officials, and reporters in Wellington.

VOV