Participants to the 12th South China Sea International Conference (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Participants to the ongoing 12th South China Sea InternationalConference discussed openly how to maintain peace and cooperation in the waters.
The event, which is taking place in both the in-person and online formats, is organisedby the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (DAV), in collaboration with the Foundationfor East Sea Studies (FESS) and the Vietnam Layers’ Association (VLA).
Participants acknowledged that ASEAN countries in general exercised restraintto keep tensions in the East Sea under control. However, a number of SoutheastAsian countries still firmly opposed China's claims in the sea.
ASEAN continues to promote multilateralism and its central role while strivingto promote maritime cooperation on the basis of international law, including the 1982United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as thelegal basis for operations in seas and oceans.
European speakers affirmed that the European Union (EU) has become moreinterested and increased its presence in Asia in general and the East Sea inparticular in recent times through strengthening security cooperation withASEAN member countries to protect the international legal system, free tradeand a rules-based order in the region.
Regarding the "debate" with notes on the East Sea issue at the UN andits impact on the future of the negotiation process of the Code of Conductionin the East Sea (COC), scholars affirmed that UNCLOS 1982 has universal andcomprehensive value, covering all maritime issues.
Regarding the role of the media in shaping public opinion in the East Sea, theymentioned the fact that some media agencies reporting from a populistperspective can falsify information, harming the promotion of collaboration in managementand peaceful settlement of disputes.
Many scholars highlighted the openness of the media in Vietnam, which isreflected by the presence of many international media agencies in the country,and the openness and frankness of the Vietnamese government agencies towards foreignjournalists./.
VNA
