Vietnam Respect and Follow Cooperation on Seas and Ocean Issues Under UNCLOS

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In particular, Deputy Minister Nguyen Minh Vu emphasized the role and importance of the convention as the "Constitution of Oceans" - a comprehensive legal document that regulates all activities of countries in the field of seas and oceans, and an important basis for the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goal 14 on the conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources.

Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam Nguyen Minh Vu at the meeting (Photo: VNA).

He highlighted several challenges emerging in the implementation process in recent times, cited VNA. The challenges he mentioned included marine pollution, over-exploitation of marine resources, the development of new marine technologies, the emergence of various types of crimes at sea, the escalation of regional tensions, and unilateral actions by countries that threaten maritime safety and security.

Regarding the East Sea, Vu suggested member countries implement maritime policies responsibly and legally, and work together to ensure peace, stability, prosperity, and sustainable development.

"A peaceful and stable environment to serve the sustainable development in the East Sea can only be guaranteed when countries establish their maritime zones in accordance with the 1982 UNCLOS and seriously exercise their sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction under the convention as well as maintaining restraint to jointly solve disputes by peaceful means in accordance with international law, including the UN Charter and the UNCLOS," said Vu.

Also, he reaffirmed that Vietnam always strives with regional countries to promote respect for the convention, fully implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and negotiate to early achieve a substantive and effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) consistent with international law.

On the other hand, the agencies formed under the convention all made important contributions to establishing legal order in the maritime and ocean field, maintaining maritime peace and security and achieving many results in the past year. In his speech, he referred to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), and the International Seabed Authority (ISA), as well as the role of ITLOS in the peaceful settlement of disputes related to the application and interpretation of the convention.

Thereby, he called on member states to seriously implement their judgments and decisions as well as the dispute resolution mechanisms stipulated in the convention.

Determining the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles to delimiting boundaries between the continental shelves of member countries and the international ocean floor area is also highlighted. The Vietnamese diplomat stressed that this decision can create conditions for the full and effective implementation of the convention's regulations on management and equitable sharing of benefits and mineral resources in this area.

"Vietnam calls for practical measures to speed up the CLCS process of reviewing reports on the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles that have been submitted," he added.

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