Vietnam backs international efforts to combat proliferation and comprehensive disarmament

Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, permanent representative of Vietnam to the UN, made the statement at a meeting of the UN General Assembly First Committee (Disarmament and International Security Committee) held on October 6 at the UN Headquarters in New York.

The meeting discussed current emerging issues related to peace, international security. and disarmament, with the occasion featuring the participation of a large number of UN member nations and representatives of many international and regional organizations.

At the meeting, many countries expressed concern over the increasingly complicated international security situation, including geopolitical tensions, prolonged conflicts, increasing military spending, and modernised nuclear weapons.

Amid this context, they emphasized the importance of multilateralism, calling for strengthening disarmament efforts and counter-proliferation mechanisms in a bid to contribute to maintaining international peace and security.

Echoing views held by other countries, Ambassador Giang said that the field of disarmament has yet to achieve substantive progress as expected, therefore the international community needs to step up greater efforts in a bid to promote comprehensive and thorough disarmament, with the highest priority being nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

The Vietnamese diplomat underscored the need to accelerate a balanced implementation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) on all three pillars, including nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, and the right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

The local representative also called on the remaining countries to swiftly sign and ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) in order to make it soon come into force.

Ambassador Giang reaffirmed that the Vietnamese side will join ASEAN member states in their commitment to maintaining a Southeast Asian region free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, as well as welcomin countries possessing nuclear weapons to sign and ratify without reservations to the Protocol to  the Treaty of Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ Treaty).

The Vietnamese Ambassador stated that it is necessary to pay close attention and have a balanced approach to the issue of conventional weapons.

He therefore voiced support for the peaceful use of outer space for peaceful purposes, as well as ensuring the rights of countries to access, explore, and use outer space on the basis of the UN Charter and international law.

Regarding solutions to the current situation, Ambassador Giang underlined the necessity of strengthening trust building and effectively easing tensions, through the need for countries, large or small, to comply with the fundamental principles of international law and the UN Charter.

In the process of multilateral negotiations on issues related to peace, security, and disarmament, there needs to be strong political commitment, confidence-building measures, as well as transparency, he added.

The occasion saw Ambassador Giang continue to affirm the country’s full commitments to actively contributing to the work of the UN General Assembly First Committee to promote peace, security, and development.

This session of the First Committee is due to last until early November. The Committee plans to discuss seven groups of topics, including important issues such as nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, disarmament apparatus reform, strengthening international security, and ensuring safety and security in outer space.