Int'l workshop on peaceful solution to East Sea dispute

 An international workshop on a peaceful solution to East Sea dispute was held on October 30 in Busan, the Republic of Korea.

The event was held by the Korean Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (IOST), the Association of Koreans who love Vietnam, the South Korean International Maritime Law Association, and the Research Institute for Maritime Law under the Youngsan University. 

The Vietnamese ambassador to the Republic of Korea, Pham Huu Chi, said the organization of an international workshop on the East Sea by Korean organizations and civil groups was practical in the context of the increasingly complicated situation in the East Sea which threatens peace, maritime security and freedom in the region and the world. 

The ambassador said he hoped that the participating scientists would propose measures to solve the East Sea dispute in a peaceful manner.

In his speech, President of the IOST’s Maritime Policy Association Kwon Moon-sang underscored countries’ claims over sea and island sovereignty, and jurisdiction rights based on the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and international law. 

With two sessions, the workshop participants discussed settling the East Sea dispute peacefully, and the significance of applying international law to the issues of peace and security in the East Sea. 

Participants shared the view that China’s “nine-dotted line” claim was historically and legally groundless, and that its construction of artificial islands had threatened stability in the region. 

They stressed the need for a prompt signing of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea and the central role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in ensuring regional security. 

The workshop focused on prospects to prevent and peacefully resolve disputes in the region and the significance of applying international laws to peace and security in the East Sea.

VOV