Jakarta (VNA) – To affirm itself as an epicentrum of growth amid the rapid movements in the regional and global strategic environment, ASEAN needs to strongly promote its solidarity, unity, strategic autonomy, and centrality, affirming the mission of maintaining peace, stability and development in the region, stated Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son.

Son made the statement in his remarks at various meetings in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia, on May 9 – namely the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, the 33rd ASEAN Coordinating Council (ACC) Meeting, and the 26th ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC) Council Meeting.

In the face of increasing non-traditional security challenges, the Vietnamese minister proposed stronger and more effective cooperation in the areas of marine collaboration, response to environmental pollution, marine debris, transnational crime, and epidemics, among others. He also expressed his support for Indonesia's initiative of publishing an ASEAN annual document on maritime cooperation.

Appreciating Indonesia's efforts towards realising a people-centered ASEAN Community, Son emphasised a need to strengthen sub-regional cooperation, in which ASEAN should play the central role to sub-regional development with the bloc’s common cooperation programmes, and promote infrastructure, institutional and human connectivity to create growth engines for the sub-regions, effectively supporting the goal of narrowing the development gap.

Discussing the international and regional situations, the official reaffirmed ASEAN's principled stance on the East Sea and highlighted the sense of responsibility of each country in building the East Sea into a region of peace, safety and stability. He called on countries to maintain dialogue, strengthen trust, and peacefully resolve disputes based on international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982.

The diplomat held that Vietnam, ASEAN and China commit to complying with the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), working towards the early adoption of an effective and legally-binding Code of Conduct (COC) in accordance with international law, including UNCLOS 1982.

He supported and highly appreciated efforts by the ASEAN Chair’s Special Envoy on Myanmar in promoting the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus to support Myanmar. Son underscored a need for constructive and substantive dialogue between relevant parties in the region to build trust and ensure that all solutions are Myanmar-led.

At the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, participants discussed the progress in building the ASEAN Community as well as new developments in the region. They agreed to strengthen the bloc’s values, principles and standards of conduct, thereby ensuring its independence, self-reliance, proactive and flexible adaptation to changes, and centrality in the regional architecture.

Meanwhile, the 26th APSC Council Meeting focused on progress recorded in the implementation of the APSC Blueprint. Accordingly, ASEAN's principles and standards of conduct have been respected; its substantive cooperation promoted across defense, energy-food-maritime security, and response to emerging challenges; and the bloc’s principled stance on the East Sea further consolidated.

At the 33rd ACC Meeting, participating officials assessed the overall progress of the implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the drafting of the post-2025 vision. They also discussed and completed the roadmap for Timor Leste to become an ASEAN member state./.