Vietnam once again affirmed it has full historical and legalevidence for its sovereignty claim over islands in the East Sea at the 25thannual workshop on constraining latent conflicts in the East Sea, which openedin Jakarta, Indonesia, on November 13. 

Head of the Vietnam delegation Nguyen Minh Nguyet, who isdeputy director of the Department of International Law and Treaty under theForeign Ministry, said that Vietnam is worried about recent developments in theregion, especially reef constructions and actions that change the status quo ofseveral structures in the sea.

These actions cause serious impacts on the environment andbio-diversity, while threatening peace, stability and security in the region,she added.

She also spoke highly of the outcomes of the October meetingof the ASEAN-China Joint Working Group on the implementation of the Declarationon the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), during which the two sidesagreed to start discussions on main components of a Code of Conduct in the EastSea (COC).

During the two-day workshop, participants are expected tohear reports on the progress of cooperation projects, which aim to intensifycooperation among the parties to reduce tension in the East Sea.

Held annually since 1990, the workshop has created a forumfor 10 ASEAN nations, China and China’s Taiwan to boost dialogue and carry outcooperation projects to minimise tensions.

On November 12, the Working Group on the Study of Sea LevelChange and Their Impacts on Coastal Environment in the East Sea Affected byPotential Climate Change convened its 11th meeting.

Participants discussed and shared information aboutscientific applications, including a sea forecast system and a coastal,oceanic, and bio-diversity preservation integrated management system in theEast Sea.

VOV