Member nation Foreign Ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) voiced their support on September 27-28, during an Informal ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (IAMM), on the sidelines of the 66th UN General Assembly in New York City.

In his speech at the meeting, Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Vinh urged ASEAN members to uphold the association’s centrality by respecting the basic principles detailed in the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation and the Declaration of the East Asia Summit.

He called on parties to honour international law by exercising restraint, foregoing the use of force and the threat of force, peacefully settling disputes, and advancing mutually beneficial relationships for the sake of peace, stability, security, and cooperation in the region.

Regarding the East Sea issues, Deputy FM Vinh stressed the need for complying with the basic principles of international law, He highlighted the relevance of the 2012 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and the progress made towards the Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

Vinh also met with heads of delegations and the representatives of several nations to discuss bilateral relationships and issues of mutual concern.