EAS leaders underline importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, safety of navigation and aviation

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attends the 16th East Asia Summit via video conference, October 27, 2021. Photo:VGP

The event was also attended by the ASEAN Secretary-General, the Director-General of the World Health Organization and the Director-General of the World Trade Organization.

The leaders welcomed the outcomes achieved in the implementation of the Manila Plan of Action for the 2018-2022 period and charted orientations to formulate new action plan for the next period, with a focus on COVID-19 response, green and sustainable development.

Building on achievements gained over the last 15 years, the EAS, accounting for 54 percent of the world’s population and 60% of the global GDP, should remain the leading ASEAN-led platform to discuss strategic issues in the region.

Amid complicated evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic, the leaders agreed to step up multilateral, regional and international cooperation in addressing emerging challenges, effectively managing the COVID-19 pandemic, sustaining and promoting economic linkages, trade and investment, and restoring and stabilizing regional and global supply chains towards comprehensive and sustainable recovery.

The leaders underlined the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, safety of navigation and aviation, building the East Sea a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation, exercising self-restraint from acts that may escalate tensions or complicate the situation, settling disputes through peaceful measures on the basis of international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

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They called on ASEAN and China to fully and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), build an efficient and effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea that is in line with international law and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

ASEAN’s partners affirmed their support for the bloc’s role and efforts in fostering dialogue, reconciliation and assistance for Myanmar to seek solutions to soon stabilize the situation there.

Speaking at the summit, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh underscored that EAS should continue bringing into play its role and strategic values in promoting transparent behavior, frank dialogue, and confidence building, in harmonizing differences and shouldering the responsibility to maintain a peaceful and stable environment, and win-win cooperation in the region and the world.

Pham called for joint efforts in managing changes and upholding multilateral cooperation, and for policy harmonization and coordinated action in dealing with emerging challenges, preventing instability and fostering sustainable recovery.

He asked ASEAN’s partners to step up cooperation with ASEAN in improving healthcare capacity, and facilitating full and timely access to COVID-19 vaccines and drugs.

Pham called on countries to uphold the sense of responsibility and act in accordance with their commitments, respect each other and the rule of law, bolster multilateral cooperation, maintain healthy international relations.

It is the shared interest of all countries in maintaining peace and stability in the region as well as ensuring security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea. Accordingly countries need to exercise self-restraint, avoid unilateral actions that may complicate the situation, resolve disputes through peaceful measures and dialogues on the basis of international law and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, PM Pham said.

He called for efforts to fully implement the DOC and foster talks to formulate a Code of Conduct that is efficient and effectively in line with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Concluding the summit, the leaders adopted the EAS statements on mental health cooperation, sustainable recovery, and economic growth through tourism recovery./.

By Thuy Dung