ASEAN and its partner countries discussed cooperation orientations during their meetings in Manila, the Philippines on May 23.

 ASEAN member countries and China have reiterated the commitment reached by their high-ranking leaders to fully and effectively effectuating the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC).

 The 14th Senior Officials’ Meeting on the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) will take place in Guiyang city, the Chinese southwestern province of Guizhou on May 18.

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam is a large cosmetics market with turnover of $1.1 billion last year, but there is now little room for Vietnamese manufacturers.

 Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan discussed measures to enhance cooperation between ASEAN and Southern Common Market (Mercosur) with his Argentine counterpart Susana Malcorra on April 7.

 The ASEAN-US Joint Cooperation Committee convened its eighth meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, on April 4, to review their cooperation in the recent past and discuss directions to further boost bilateral partnership. 

While foreigners are enchanted by Vietnam’s tropical fruits, Vietnamese are spending trillions of dong to buy imported fruit, with import turnover increasing steadily in recent years.

VietNamNet Bridge - "In any condition, we always have to strengthen and maintain relations with neighboring countries, especially ASEAN," former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan has said. 

VietNamNet Bridge - "Like many other regions in the world, ASEAN always has to face many challenges in which the success or failure of interaction with other countries, particularly the big or powerful ones, is the most important."

In 2003, ASEAN leaders adopted the ASEAN Concord II Declaration, under which they agreed to form the ASEAN Community by 2020. VietNamNet talked with former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan, Dr. Do Duc Dinh and Dr. Vo Tri Thanh about this.

VietNamNet Bridge - ASEAN, together with China, should be the most important partner for Vietnam. However, Vietnamese enterprises are not keen on exporting their products to the market.

VietNamNet Bridge - While goods from ASEAN countries and China are flowing to Vietnam under free trade agreements (FTAs), Vietnamese goods are finding it difficult to penetrate the markets.

 ASEAN and USAID, in partnership with UL, a global safety science organisation, has announced Dr. Worajit Setthapun of Thailand as the winner of the 2016 ASEAN-US Science Prize for Women, according to the ASEAN Secretariat website. 

 ASEAN member states and China have agreed to boost partnership in implementing sustainable development goals (SDGs). 

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc will lead a Vietnamese delegation to the 28th and 29th ASEAN Summits and related meetings in Vientiane, Laos, from September 6 - 8. 

VietNamNet Bridge - Experts have warned that as Vietnam is now part of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), it faces a higher risk of local brands being stolen.

The ASEAN-India Economic Ministers Consultation Meeting took place in Laos, with ministers agreeing to push the implementation of the two sides’ agreements on investment, trade and services towards lifting ASEAN-India ties to a strategic partnership.

 Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh held bilateral meetings with the Foreign Ministers of Singapore and Indonesia on July 24 on the sidelines of the 49 th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Vientiane.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has emphasised connections as a major focus of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) nations, during the 11th ASEM Summit that opened in Ulan Bator, Mongolia on July 15.

China's statement to withdraw from the UNCLOS in response to the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration is not entirely a new idea, but if this scenario actually happens, it will have two major impacts on regional and international order.