Vietnam pledged to make positive and responsible contributions to ASEAN cooperation and join other members to successfully implement the group’s focuses, Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh has said.

Speaking at the meetings of ASEAN Foreign Ministers (AMM), ASEAN Political-Security Council (APSC) and ASEAN Coordinating Council (ACC) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on November 16-17, FM Minh stressed that ASEAN countries need to strengthen solidarity, maintain a central role in regional development and promote peace, security, stability and cooperation in the region and the world.

He also affirmed that ASEAN should expand cooperation and improve regional capacity to deal with emerging challenges, including natural disasters, climate change, maritime security and transnational issues.

The Vietnamese FM asked ASEAN to create conditions for its partners to contribute to regional cooperation related issues - especially ASEAN connectivity - and build a community with expanding and deepening relations with ASEAN and non-regional countries.

Minh spoke positively of the role and principles of the Southeast Asian Treaty on Amity Cooperation (TAC), an important document guiding the conduct of cooperation between regional and non-regional countries in ASEAN. Other country participation in the TAC is highly valued, he added.

The FM made suggestions on key issues discussed at the meetings, and exchanged views on regional and international matters of common concern.

Referring to the East Sea issue, Minh stressed the importance of peace, stability and maritime security in the sea, the peaceful resolution of disputes, and the observance of international law and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, including regulations on respecting coastal countries’ exclusive economic zones and continental shelves, as well as the full implementation of the Declaration on the Conducts of Parties (DOC) in the East Sea, the ASEAN Six-point Principle on the East Sea and the early building of the Code of Conducts of Parties in the East Sea.

He also welcomed ASEAN’s first organisation of the open ASEAN sea forum and the ASEAN-China 10 th anniversary celebration of the signing of the DOC.

The AMM, APSC and ACC meetings were held in preparation for the 21 st ASEAN Summit and related meetings to be held in Phnom Penh from November 18-20.

At the end of the meetings, the Foreign Ministers of ASEAN countries and Brazil signed documents relating to Brazil’s participation in TAC.

Outside of the meetings, FM Minh held separate bilateral talks with his Indonesian, Singaporean and Malaysian counterparts.

At the talks, the sides spoke highly of the relations between Vietnam and their countries, affirming their determination to consolidate and strengthen the existing ties and further collaborate at regional and international forums.

The FMs agreed to further strengthen high-level delegation exchanges, maintain the established cooperation mechanisms, consolidate and enhance their friendship and effective cooperation, and join hands to build a unified ASEAN Community by 2015.